Kairos
by sparklymeg
Summary: Summary: Kairos - from Ancient Greek - the right or opportune moment - the perfect timing. Age is just a number, but timing is everything. Originally written for the May to December Romance Contest.
1. Chapter 1

**UNBETA'D**

 **X-x-X**

Summary: Kairos - from Ancient Greek - the right or opportune moment - the perfect timing. Age is just a number, but timing is everything. Written for the May to December Romance Contest.

 **Chapter One**

 ** _~Prologue~_**

The heady combination of sharp, bitter lime and sweet ginger make her screw her eyes shut and wrinkle her nose as she knocks back the last of the cocktail. The strong concoction is like a shot to the veins; relaxation spreading through her body, warming her like a fleece blanket.

Her lips curl up in a lazy smile; her eyes drifting from his eyes to his lips and back again. He doesn't miss it - she's not trying to be subtle - and he licks his lips before continuing with whatever he was talking about.

Bella tries to focus, but inside she's rolling her eyes. Garrett has been droning on and on for the last thirty minutes about work - something she'd hoped to avoid when he asked her to go for out of hours drinks. He's been flirty and touchy feely at work, distracting her with subtle innuendo and intense gazes.

Now, as they sit perched on bar stools, she wonders how she never noticed before how monotone his voice is. How his face, while very handsome, has only one expression.

She's bored out of her mind. She cuts him off mid-sentence.

"I need to use the ladies room," she says with a quick squeeze to his forearm. "I'll be right back."

After using the facilities, Bella touches up her lipstick and ruffles her hair. She unbuttons the top button on her ivory silk blouse and sprays a dab of perfume onto her heated flesh. Time to spice things up.

It's Friday night and one way or another, whether it's Garrett or someone else, Bella will be taking a man to her bed tonight.

She surveys her reflection with pride. Not bad for thirty five. Not a spot or wrinkle on her youthful face. Her skin is clear, her eyes bright, her hair thick and glossy. She takes good care of her body; fat lot of good it does her. She hasn't had sex in over a year.

She squares her shoulders, the combination of liquid courage and pure sexual frustration making her bold and determined, and marches right out of the ladies room.

She hits a wall.

A wall with huge, warm hands that cradle her elbows as she stumbles on unsteady feet.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. Didn't see you there. Where you in a rush to, little lady?"

Bella stutters and mumbles an apology as she rights herself and stands up straight. She feels a little dizzy, and she squints to focus on the tall male who is still holding on to to her.

His scent invades her senses, rich spice and cedarwood, and it's one of those moments where a smell suddenly floods your brain with a thousand pictures of a time forgotten.

The cocktails were stronger than she realized. She's only had two, but she feels drunk, or maybe it's the way the man's hands feel on her arms; the rush of warmth she feels from skin on skin contact.

"Bella?" He speaks again, and through her drunken haze there is a lingering hint of recognition; she knows this man. She's heard his voice before.

"Bella Swan? I almost didn't recognise you," he says, his arms sliding up from her elbows to rest lightly on her shoulders, the familiarity of the gesture making her melt inside.

His smile is just as warm as she remembers it, and now there's a confidence to it that wasn't there before. She responds with a smile of her own, looking into the sparkling, jade eyes that took her breath away years ago.

This man is very different from the boy she once knew.

Her sweetest regret.

Her most beautiful memory.

Her own little piece of kryptonite.

Her next mistake.

X-x-X

 **Umm, Hi?**

 **This is the result of too much wine and some goading from my Madi. She's nothing if not persistent.**

 **I started writing this last year for the May to December Romance contest, but didn't get it finished in time. I've come back to it recently and been inspired to finish it. I didn't plan to start posting yet, but I couldn't help myself. It's not been beta'd and only snippets have been pre-read by Madi on skype earlier this evening. It's short chapters, about half written, but I have no update schedule.**

 **Ordinary Girl is finished - the last three chapters are with my pre-reader and beta. Hope to update sometime in the next week.**

 **Happy Saturday! xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**UNBETA'D**

 **Chapter Two**

 ****Four years ago****

"Edward Cullen."

"Cullen... That name rings a bell. How old is he?"

Bella scanned the resume in front of her for his date of birth, doing the math in her head.

"Twenty one. Just graduated a year early from UDub. Valedictorian in high school and college, graduated top of his class. Over qualified for the job, really." Bella sighed as she handed the resume over to James, the owner of the hotel and country club.

Bella watched as his lips pursed, his eyes running over the document as he took in the information. She was getting restless; they had been in interviews all day for the the assistant manager position, with little success. The heat in this office was stifling, and Bella reached for her water glass.

She had been unimpressed by the candidates so far, some under qualified, others lacking basic social skills or any personality at all. James seemed similarly unaffected, but Bella noticed the way his eyes lit up as he read over the latest resume.

"This one's got potential." James pressed the button on the intercom on his desk. "Shelley, send in Edward Cullen."

A minute later, they stood to greet the interview candidate. Edward Cullen towered over Bella and James, exuding charisma and charm. His easy smile, eye contact, and firm handshake impressed Bella immediately. He answered the their questions with a confidence and poise she would never have expected from a twenty one year old.

Still, something nagged at Bella. James had been leading for most of the interview, so when he finished up with his current question, she cleared her throat and interjected.

"Mr Cullen, why do you want to work for the Hunter Group?"

"The job is perfect for me," he said, his lips spreading out in a dashing smile that revealed rows of perfect, white teeth. "Books and tests are one thing, but I believe the experience and insight I could gain from this role would be invaluable in shaping my future. The Hunter group is a household name, the country's leading hotel group and has one of the best in house employee training programs. I want to be the best, and I believe working for the best will help me achieve that."

Bella and James exchanged glances. They were impressed. Edward Cullen certainly came across as confident without being cocky, and he'd definitely done his homework. James raised an eyebrow at Bella, who shifted her gaze back to Edward.

Bella's stomach flipped when she realized his piercing green eyes were still fixed intently on her. She could see how long his lashes were from across the table.

"Why should we hire you, Mr Cullen?"

He grinned, one shoulder shrugged. "Why not?"

 _Why not indeed,_ she mused.

 **x~x~x**

Edward Cullen turned out to be a good fit for the job. His degree in Business Management with Hospitality was put to good use in the busy country club that had just undergone a multi million dollar refurbishment. They needed someone young and fresh to inject new life into the image they were trying to portray.

Edward Cullen was a man of many talents. As a qualified massage therapist, a former competitive swimmer, and someone who had a genuine, friendly rapport with the clientèle, he made an excellent assistant manager, working directly under Bella.

Alongside studying for his degree, Edward had done night classes to become a personal trainer and spin instructor. Bella put him in charge of the fitness class and swim lesson program, while she managed membership sales and the Spa department. Edward also rented one of the rooms to set up a small, part time sports massage service.

His schedule for that became booked solid immediately.

While Edward had an open and friendly demeanour with the clients, he was quiet, almost shy when it came to one-on-one situations. Bella found it a startling contrast to how he'd come across in his interview. She met with him on Mondays to discuss goals and targets for the week ahead, and she found it hard to pull conversation out of him. Bella liked to get to know her staff on some level. Of course there were professional lines that you just didn't cross, but if they were to work together every day, Bella wanted to know a little more about her young associate.

Edward had a habit of deflecting when Bella tried to engage him in small talk about his hobbies outside of work. He avoided eye contact and fidgeted with his planner. Mumbled quick one word answers and cleared his throat a lot.

Bella was baffled and more than a little frustrated at his behaviour, and resigned herself to keeping their conversations strictly about work related matters. She put it down to a personality clash and decided it would be easier to just be pleasant and approachable and let him lead. Edward kept to himself for the most part, and was always civil and professional toward Bella.

Still, he was awfully pretty to look at.

 **X~x~x**

 **A/N**

 **Hi all! Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews and feedback from the Prologue!**

 **It's been so long since I posted on FFN, the document manager has changed a lot, does anyone know how I add the line breaks in chapters? I'm doing this : x~x~x , because I can't see an option to add the lines. If anyone can help me, drop me a PM here or on Facebook !**

 **Hugs and kisses to my wonderful pre-readers Karen and Madi, and thank you everyone who has read, reviewed and rec'd this story! Lots of love xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Unbeta'd - any mistakes are mine.**

 **Chapter Three**

As the months wore on, Bella found herself more settled in the job she had hated for years, knowing that she had a good team around her. Membership was at maximum capacity and the club was thriving, a result of the revamped fitness class timetable that Edward had created, and new Spa therapists Bella had hired. The club's success was reflected in Bella's pay check, which included a healthy monthly bonus for hitting sales and retention targets. For the first time in years, Bella could get up in the morning and actually look forward to going to work.

Bella had never planned on being stuck in this job for so long. After graduating from UDub with a degree in Political Science, she'd planned to go to law school. The little nest egg she'd been saving needed topping up, so she found herself working as a bartender in the country club in Port Angeles, the summer she'd graduated college. The prestigious country club was fairly new, owned by the Hunter Group, a national chain of hotels, golf resorts and country clubs. The pay was excellent, and the social life even better.

A summer fling with Peter, one of the servers in the restaurant, a broken condom and nine months later, Bella's plans for law school had been scuppered with the arrival of baby Seth. Despite the poor timing, Bella was never one to shy away from a challenge. She took motherhood in her stride, stepping up to the role of mother _and_ father when Peter skipped town, wanting nothing to do with his child.

When Bella returned to work after maternity leave, she'd applied for the part time Assistant Manager position, the job Edward was in now. At the time it had been a job share with another young mother, and the hours suited Bella. She never wanted to be a stay-at-home-Mom; she craved adult company and coherent conversation. Bella found a wonderful minder in family friend, Sue, and as much as she loved getting out to work, she equally relished the smile on Seth's face when she picked him up from Sue's.

Her promotion to manager came later when Seth had started pre-school. Almost ten years later, she was still here. Law school was a pipe dream, something Bella thought about once in awhile, but had resigned herself to the fact that it probably would never happen. At 31, she couldn't imagine going back to school full time. Her salary at the country club meant she wasn't rich by any means, but careful budgeting and sale shopping meant that Bella and Seth were comfortable in their lifestyle.

Still, Bella always wondered if there was more out there for her.

 **X~x~X**

The staff Christmas party brought Edward out of his shell a little. They gathered at a huge round table at _Bella Italia_ Restaurant in Port Angeles, where the wine, pizza and pasta flowed. Secret Santa presents had been given out and Bella was more than a little buzzed.

Bella couldn't help but wonder what was was different about Edward tonight. Sure, his hair was a crazy mess of bronze curls, fuzzy and long, circa Justin Timberlake in his N'SYNC days. Edward had a slight smattering of stubble around his face, almost as though he wasn't fully man enough to grow a proper beard yet. He was a little on the skinny side, with broad shoulder and narrow hips; classic swimmer's physique, but for the first time tonight, Bella noticed how ridiculously handsome Edward was. Maybe it was because he smiled tonight more than Bella had ever seen him smile in the six months they'd been working together. The way their eyes kept meeting across the table sent a mass of long dormant butterflies swirling around deep in Bella's stomach. Bella could feel Edward's gaze on her from the corner of her eye, and every time she looked his way he simply held her stare before looking away with a slight smirk twisting on his beautiful red lips.

Edward seemed to exude the same confidence he'd shown in his interview, and Bella struggled to maintain a professional composure when alcohol flowed and those beautiful green eyes didn't seem to be looking anywhere else but in her direction.

Bella was curious about this handsome boy and who the lucky girl was to warm his bed at night.

She shook the thoughts away, chastising herself for thinking such inappropriate things about a younger man. She knocked back the rest of her wine before excusing herself to the ladies room.

That was the first night she dreamt of Edward Cullen.

 **X~x~X**

"Hey Boss, I'm gonna take off, okay?" Edward's head popped around Bella's office door. Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, and she watched as he hovered in the doorway before pushing it all the way open.

Edward ran his fingers through his unruly wet hair and wiped a towel across his bare chest.

Bella could see his lips moving, but his words were a blur. She watched as a bead of moisture made it's way down his long neck, trickled down the taut curve of his pectoral muscle, and landed on his firm, dark nipple. She licked her lips, suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to lick that soft, wet spot on his chest.

"Bella?" A small smirk began to form on Edward's lips.

Bella dropped her gaze and busied her hands with tidying some papers on her desk. She was mortified that she'd been caught ogling her subordinate. He regularly made his way past her office, which was situated along the corridor from the staff locker rooms, having just finished the swimming lesson programme for the day. Today was the first day he'd done so shirtless, though.

Bella collected herself and made eye contact. "Something wrong with your uniform, Edward?"

Edward had the decency to look sheepish, and Bella felt her embarrassment ebb away as her galloping heart slowed.

"Umm, sorry," he said with a chuckle. "I swam a few laps after my lessons were done."

Bella cleared her throat and attempted a small smile. "No worries. Get outta here, you're dripping all over the floor." She fought to keep her eyes on his face, but couldn't help noticing that _his_ eyes kept dropping south.

Edward winked as he back out of the office. "No problem, boss lady. I'll clean it up. See you Monday."

He was gone before Bella could reply. She leaned back in her chair and sighed.

This was not good.

 **X~x~X**

 **A/N**

 **Thank you to Karen and Madi for pre-reading!**

 **A few reviewers asked about Bella's age and what the age difference is between E & B - in the Prologue it is mentioned that Bella is 35. Then the start of the story jumps back four years. Bella is 31, and Edward is 21. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**UNBETA'D**

 **Karen and Madi pre-read. Any mistakes are mine.**

 **Chapter Four**

"God, I'm telling you Alice, he's so sexy," Bella whined, wincing at the after taste of the shot of tequila that her best friend had bought her.

"So what's the problem?" Alice motioned to the bartender for another drink. It had been too long since the two friends had caught up. There was tequila to drink and gossip to catch up on.

"Alice! He's twenty one! He's _ten_ years younger than me. Plus, I'm his boss. It's totally inappropriate."

Alice scoffed. "The company doesn't have a policy against staff members dating. Problem solved."

"Did you miss the part where I said he's ten years younger than me?" Bella let out an exasperated sigh as Alice rolled her eyes.

"So what? It's a good thing. He's at his sexual peak. I bet he has stamina for days. Besides, some guys are into older women. Age is just a number. It's not like you're marrying the guy. You just need one night of hot sex with him to break this drought you've been in."

"Alice," Bella whisper-yelled, elbowing her friend in the ribs. "Keep your voice down. The whole bar doesn't need to know how long it's been since I got laid!"

Alice couldn't help but giggle at Bella's exasperation as the bartender, who was within earshot, smirked and shook his head as he prepared their drinks. "Chill, girl. Bartenders hear worse."

"Anyway, tell me more about your new guy, what's his name again?"

Alice practically squealed, bouncing up and down on her bar stool. Her face lit up with excitement as she told her friend about her new beau, Jasper. Bella was relieved that Alice had taken the bait and changed the subject, and listened with interest as Alice gushed about romantic walks in the park, a weekend trip to Seattle and flower deliveries to her office.

While Bella was happy for her friend, she couldn't help the tiny shred of envy that settled in her mind as she wished she could have the same.

 **X~x~X**

As the night wore on, words became slurred and people became blurred as shots were downed, cocktails were sipped and beers chugged. Bella didn't usually allow herself to drink so much, but a rare child free Friday night meant that she could let her hair down and not worry about tomorrow.

"Oh my gosh I love this song! Let's dance!" Alice cried as she pulled Bella by the hand on to the crowded dance floor. Bella could feel instant change in temperature as they weaved their way into the mass of bodies. Groups of girls swayed and shimmied to the beat, while young couples danced close, all wandering hands and grinding hips. Bella's tequila loosened hips moved and swayed to the heavy beat, and she found herself lost in the music. She closed her eyes and raised her arms, her upper body undulating in time with the song.

"Whoa, B." Alice nudged Bella, moving in closer so her friend could hear her over the music. "Totally hot guy behind you checking you out," she said, her eyes wide. Alice was almost drooling.

Bella shook her head and chuckled at her friend. Alice was more than a little tipsy and the dance floor was so crowded, the guy could be looking at any one of the girls on the dance floor.

There was no way someone was checking her out.

"Shit! He totally saw me staring!"

"God, Alice. Be more obvious," Bella said with a giggle. She continued dancing, enjoying herself so much that she barely noticed Alice's gasp. What she definitely noticed though, was a set of large hands settling on her hips. Bella let out a gasp of her own as a hard, lean body pressed against her back, hips rolling in time with hers, fingers squeezing softly into the exposed flesh between the hem of her shirt and her jeans.

She tried to turn, to see who her mystery dancer was, but he held her hips firmly and pulled her flush against him, distracting her. Bella closed her eyes and succumbed to the sensation, leaning her head back into the stranger's chest. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, panting as they swayed to their own erotic rhythm. Something about his scent was so familiar. Long fingers brushed her hips before slowly dancing across her stomach. His hands met in the middle and he pulled her closer still; no space between their bodies. Bella gasped as she felt him, long, thick and hard, grinding into her lower back. Her nipples hardened instantly and a light sheen of sweat began to bead across her brow. A different kind of wetness began to pool in the deepest part of her when she felt rough lips trailing up her neck. Not quite kisses, the lips simply moved up and down the space between her ear and her shoulder, with the occasional soft bite from his teeth.

He continued to grind against her, and Bella placed her hands over his, wanting to be connected as much as possible. She had never felt this way before, like a grenade about to detonate. Like a storm brewing; unstable, volatile, the pressure rapidly building, ready for the lightning to crack. Bella moaned with desire as his lips closed around her neck, pulling her flesh into his mouth, teasing and sucking and biting. She squeezed her thighs, desperate for his hand to move lower and touch her heat. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe that it had been so long for her, but Bella had lost all inhibitions. She didn't care that she couldn't see his face; he could have three eyes or bad breath, but the sensations he was evoking in her were like nothing she had ever felt before, and she wanted him.

In her mind, she saw him pull her by the hand out of the club into a waiting cab. He'd be all over her, one hand in her hair, the other making it's way slowly up her thigh. Desperate, messy kisses, the air thick and charged with sexual tension. He'd snake his fingers into the space between her legs and rub her into a frenzy over her jeans until she was panting for more. They'd arrive at his place and he'd be so desperate for her that he'd take her against the front door as soon as it closed behind them...

The imagery in her head came to an abrupt halt as the song changed and she felt air between their bodies. He pulled back and planted a soft kiss on her shoulder. She gasped as she felt his large hand close over her ass and squeeze the soft flesh there.

Then he was gone.

 **X~x~X**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing! xoxox**

 **ps. When you post a Prologue, and then no chapter titles, just numbers , it kinda messes up the chapter numbers. Anyway, the Prologue wasnt really a chapter, per se, but according to FFN, it was chapter one. and then chapter two was the official chapter one. So this in your update box will say chapter four but really it's only chapter 3? confused yet? LOL me too! anyone know how to fix it?**

 **Pps. Never mind, i fixed it. I think. I just called the prologue Chapter one as well so that the chapter numbers would line up. I changed them all so hopefully its okay now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**UNBETA'D**

 **Karen pre-read, I tinkered. Any mistakes are mine.**

 **Chapter Five**

The cruel light of dawn was an unwelcome guest. Harsh rays of mid morning sun shone through the drapes; making Bella groan and bury her head under the soft downy pillow. Her temples throbbed and her mouth was parched like the dessert. She could hear Alice moving around the room; drawers closing, the beep of her straightener turning on. She'd always be amazed at how much her tiny friend could drink, yet never seemed to suffer with a hangover.

Bella closed her eyes, trying to doze off again, but images swirled around in her mind from last night, and she found herself concentrating hard, trying to remember if it had been a dream, or something more. The blurred memories became sharper, compounding the dull ache in her head as she grasped to the hope that it was just a dream. That she hadn't let some nameless, faceless stranger put his hands all over her and grind up against her in a public place.

She sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes, letting out a huge yawn.

"Well well, Miss Houseman, how's the head this morning?" Alice asked with a smirk as she eyed Bella in the mirror.

Bella frowned. "Miss Houseman?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Baby? From Dirty Dancing?"

Bella's cheeks felt hot as more images bombarded her. Definitely not a dream.

"God, Alice," she groaned. "I was shit-faced. Why'd you let me drink so much?" Bella flopped back onto the bed and rubbed circles into her temples, fruitlessly trying to sooth the ache.

"God, it's not like I forced it down your throat," Alice replied with a snigger. "Anyway, that guy was _such_ a hottie."

"He was?" Bella frowned, wishing she'd been able to get a good look at him, remembering how he'd manoeuvred her around in such a way that prevented her from seeing his face.

"It was the guy that was checking you out!" Alice switched off her straighteners and started on her make up. "I told you, he'd been checking you out already. Next thing I knew he was practically fucking you on the dance floor. Not gonna lie, it was hot to watch. Who knew you had moves like that?"

Bella felt her cheeks heat at Alice's words; she remembered how turned on she'd been by the dancing, the way he rubbed up against her, the way he held her hips firmly in his large hands.

"What did he look like?" she asked, sitting up again. She was intrigued by the mysterious stranger. She remembered how she'd turned around to look for him when he'd abruptly pulled away, but the only males around her were attached to other girls. It was like he'd disappeared into thin air.

"Tall, dark and handsome, duh!" Alice replied with a giggle.

"Seriously Al, focus," said Bella. "I need you to remember." She didn't know why it was so important for her to know, it wasn't like she would see him again.

"Well, definitely tall. Dark, not so much. It was hard to tell with the club lights but I think his hair was more copper? And definitely handsome." Alice pretended to fan herself. "Absolute hottie, jawline to die for. Beautiful lips. His face was perfection."

The description was too similar to someone else she knew. Bella didn't dare to hope that it could have been _him_.

"Hmm, I wonder why he just disappeared like that?"

"Who knows? He seemed pretty into you," Alice mused as she started applying lip gloss. She gasped, and then froze with her hand mid air.

"Oh my gosh, what if it was your hottie from work? Can you imagine?"

Bella rolled her eyes and scoffed, but inside was thinking how strange it was for Alice to have the same idea she'd had. Bella sighed in resignation; things like that only ever happened in movies or books. She shrugged off the idea.

"Please, Alice, let's not go there again. I can't believe I even told you about him."

"I'm just saying," Alice sang. She loved to tease Bella. "Now come on, get up, I wanna go get brunch."

Bella sighed as she made her way to the bathroom to shower. Alice's words had sent her imagination running wild, but she knew there was no way something like that would ever happen.

Still, that's what fantasies were for.

 **x~x~x**

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews are love!**

 **Trying to get to review replies, I think I got everyone from the last chapter! This was a shorter one so maybe another long one tomorrow or Saturday :)**

 **Lots of love xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to Karen for pre-reading. I tinkered after she looked over it, so any mistakes are mine.**

 **Chapter six**

Seth had been going to private coaching with Edward on Sunday afternoons for a few months now, and was making great progress.

Edward was an amazing teacher, well liked by both kids and their parents. The little girls in his classes would watch his demonstrations with puppy dog eyes and their mothers would sit around the viewing area, heads together, whispering and pointing at him, practically swooning.

Sure, he was a great teacher, but Bella wasn't convinced that was the only reason the swim waiting list had tripled since he started working at the country club.

It seemed Bella wasn't the only one with a little crush.

 _ **Still okay for 4pm? E**_

Bella smiled at her phone and tapped out a quick reply. They only texted about work related things or Seth's lessons, but it still made her a little giddy on the inside.

 _ **Yes, Seth is excited. We'll see you then. B**_

Bella picked up Seth from Charlie's house in Forks where he'd stayed for the weekend. Charlie loved to have Seth for the weekend once a month so that Bella could have some downtime. She spent some time catching up with her father over coffee, telling him about her night out with Alice (leaving out the details of her dirty dancer) and asking about Charlie's work.

Bella lost track of time and when she looked at her watch, she jumped up from the kitchen island and gathered her keys and purse.

"Come on Seth, we don't wanna be late for swimming!" Bella shouted through the open back door and watched as Seth bounded excitedly in from the back yard where he'd been kicking around a football. They hugged Charlie goodbye and got in the car to make the short trip from Forks to Port Angeles. Bella had already packed Seth's swim bag when she'd left her own house that morning, so they made their way straight to the country club.

Bella cursed inwardly when she saw the clock on the dash. By the time they'd get there and get Seth changed, they'd be at least five minutes late for Seth's lesson. She hoped Edward wouldn't be pissed with her.

When they arrived poolside, she couldn't see Edward at first. Her eyes darted around the section of the pool that he normally took his lessons in; she could see his equipment set up, but he was nowhere to be seen. Movement in the corner of her eye caught Bella's attention, and she looked to the other end of the pool. Edward executed a perfect dive from the diving block at the deep end and entered the water with barely a splash. She watched as he swam half the length of the pool under the water, before surfacing, his long arms spread out like wings, performing a perfect butterfly stroke. His arms sliced through the water, creating rippling lines across the otherwise peaceful pool surface. He was fast, and from her vantage point at the side of the pool, she could see the muscles of his upper back and shoulders flex and strain as he undulated through the water. When he came up for air, his eyes were covered by his goggles but the rest of his face was a picture of focus and grit determination, like he was racing against the clock.

She was mesmerized by him - it was the hottest thing she'd seen in a long time, and her mind started to wander.

"Mom, there's Edward," said Seth, pulling his swim cap over his head. Bella watched as Seth performed a shallow dive into the pool and began warming up. Seth had always loved the water, and from a young age had shown natural talent. Edward seemed to think Seth had potential to be competitive. Bella didn't want to push him too hard while he was still only young,but the enthusiasm Seth had showed won out, and Bella decided she would let him do the extra training. If he wanted to stop, he'd stop.

Edward surfaced and gripped the edge of the pool deck, before propping his goggles up on his forehead. He was panting, and Bella couldn't take her eyes of the hard planes of his chest; the water dripping from it, the light smattering of bronze hair there.

"Hey, Bella." Edward smiled as he pulled a t-shirt from the pool deck and pulled it over his head, which made Bella pout on the inside.

"Hey, Edward," she replied, trying to sound calm and collected, like she wasn't just imagining Edward naked. "Sorry we're late, I lost track of time at my Dad's house."

"Oh, no worries," he said, pulling the goggles from his head. Edward winced in pain as he realized part of the strap of his goggles had got caught in his unruly hair. Bella watched, amused, as he struggled to untangle the small piece of rubber.

"Umm, could you help me?" He looked up at Bella with a sheepish smile on his face. She rolled her eyes and bent down on her haunches so she could reach his head. Edward was still fidgeting with the strap when Bella set her hand on top of his and stilled it.

"Stop, you're making it worse," she chided. "Let me do it." Edward lowered his hands and waited. Bella's eyes zoned in on the top of Edward's head, concentrating on untangling the goggles, but in her peripheral vision she could feel Edward's gaze on her, and it made her insides melt.

Finally, she freed the strands of hair that we caught in the goggle strap without pulling any hair out of his head, and tossed the goggles into the water.

"There, all done," she whispered. Her other hand remained in Edward's hair and seemed to suddenly have a mind of it's own, ruffling the long curly locks before smoothing them over to one side.

A visible shudder ran through Edward at the touch, and Bella snatched her hand back as if she'd been electrocuted. She cleared her throat and stepped back.

"Thanks," Edward said with a wink. "So, did you have fun on Friday night?"

Bella's heart skipped. "What?"

"You mentioned on Friday that you couldn't wait to go out on Friday night," he said. "Did you have fun?"

Bella was both relieved and disappointed. Disappointed, because for a split second she believed that Edward _had_ in fact been her dirty dancer. Relieved, because if it had been him, it had the potential to be all kinds of awkward.

"Yeah. I had a lot of fun, thanks."

"Glad to hear it," he said with a smile, before turning to Seth, who had swum back toward them, and splashing him with water. "Alright, Seth, let's do this."

 **x~x~x**

 **Happy Mother's Day to all in the UK!**

 **Happy Sunday to everyone else!**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to Karen for pre-reading. Any mistakes are mine.**

 **Chapter Seven**

"Knock knock," the sing song voice was accompanied by three loud bangs on Bella's office door, before it swung open. Edward appeared in the doorway carrying coffee cups and a brown paper bag. He sauntered toward the desk and set the cups down.

"Your coffee, Madame," he said with a wink. Bella noticed he'd been doing that a lot lately, and it unnerved her. It had been a few weeks since the goggles incident, and Bella had been avoiding Edward. She'd purposely changed the staff schedule so that they were working opposing shifts most days of the week. She'd limited their interaction to when they were changing over shift, and even then, kept things strictly work related. However, today they had their monthly head of department meeting with James, who came down once a month to check on things.

"Did you eat yet? I brought you a bagel," said Edward, sitting down in the chair on the other side of Bella's desk. The sweet gesture made Bella's heart swell; he'd brought her coffee before, but never food. She swallowed down her feelings with a sip of coffee and politely thanked him.

Bella couldn't allow this crush to develop any further. Edward was twenty one for God's sake, and as much as his good looks made her feel swoony and all tangled up inside, he was just a kid. There was no way he'd ever be interested in a woman ten years his senior. Especially a single parent with baggage. Besides, she didn't even know if he was single. If she allowed her feelings to develop any further, she was only setting herself up for heartbreak.

"So what's good?" Edward mumbled through bites of his bagel. "We all set for this meeting?"

"Yeah," Bella said, before taking another sip coffee. Black and one sugar, just the way she liked it. "I have the figures done, I just need to print out the retention reports for this month. Do you have your studio report done?" She clicked print on the file she had open on her computer screen, and took another sip of coffee as she waited for the printer.

Edward nodded, and Bella watched his adam's apple bob as he took a gulp of his coffee. "Yep, all done, boss," he said, winking again.

"Alright then." Bella pushed back her chair and rose from the desk. With her coffee in one hand, she collected the papers from the printer and tucked them under her arm. She tilted her head toward the door.

"Ready?"

 **x~x~x**

"I gotta say, I'm amazed at these figures. It's been our highest grossing January in years, but usually February dies off a bit," James said, scanning the monthly income reports. "But right now we're looking at sales figures almost as high as last month."

Bella tried to concentrate as James droned on about the sales figures, retention reports and setting targets for the month ahead. None of this was new to her; or really, to Edward, since he'd been here for well over six months now, but Edward seemed so soak up James' every word. He was always asking Bella questions, and seemed eager to learn as much as possible about running the club.

"Things have improved vastly since you started here, Edward," said James. "Bella and I are very pleased with your work. You and she must work well together, because, with all due respect, Bella, your productivity has improved greatly since Edward started."

Bella's face blazed at James' words, and she was all of a sudden extremely self conscious. Was her crush on Edward obvious? Did she enjoy her job so much better now because _he_ was there every day? Did she look forward to going to work every day because she knew she'd see his face, even though lately she'd been avoiding him?

Bella plastered on her most professional smile. "Well, Edward is a very good at what he does."

Her words were intended to be totally innocent, but when she caught the subtle smirk that twisted across James's lips, she realized the implied innuendo in her words. She wondered how much her boss knew. Edward seemed unfazed.

"Bella's a really great boss," said Edward. "I've learned a lot from her, and I'm really grateful for that."

James smiled. "Well, you two certainly make a great team." He sat back in his chair, eyes darting between the two of them. There was a charged, tangible tension in the room, if it had a colour it would be fiery red hot. Were they already sleeping together? James didn't think so. The way they looked at each other, it was a nervous tension, an unresolved attraction. He didn't think the two of them would last much longer before they'd succumb to their desires. He didn't care either way, as long as they did their jobs and kept bringing in sales figures like this.

He decided to throw a spanner in the works; a test of sorts.

"Although, I wanted to let you know about a position opening up, Edward."

Edward sat up a little straighter in his chair, an eyebrow quirked. He was intrigued.

"We're expanding in Arizona, a flagship resort, of sorts. Five star hotel, eighteen hole championship golf course, state of the art gym, and indoor and outdoor pool facilities" said James proudly. "Of course, you're under no obligation, but I wanted to offer you the position of club manager before I'd advertise externally."

Bella visibly blanched at James's words. Edward stole a quick glance in her direction before clearing his throat.

"Wow," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I'm flattered, obviously..." he trailed off, glancing at Bella again, whose eyes were fixed intently on the reports on the desk in front of her.

"But, I wanna stay here," he said. "Bella and I do make a good team." His words made Bella's eyes move from the papers to his face. He was talking to James, but his eyes were focused on Bella, as if they were the only two in the room. "I've got a good thing going here. I'm not ready to move on yet."

Bella pressed her lips together to hide her smile.

James nodded. "Well, you let me know if you change your mind," he said, although he had a feeling they'd never speak of it again.

 **x~x~x**

 **thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Sorry I'm a fail on review replies, I'm trying to catch up ! Happy Friday ! xo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Huge thanks to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing. They made this so much better!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

"Whoa." Bella sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth as she watched the group of guys strut on to the poolside. There were around twenty of them, all shirtless and wearing tight black shorts, showing off bulging thigh muscles, and bulges in _other places_. They were shirtless, their broad shoulders and hard pectoral muscles gleaming with the remnants of massage oil. Bella's breath hitched at the sight.

"Who are those guys?" she asked Edward. He had appeared beside her at the window that overlooked the pool, letting out a chuckle.

"See something you like?"

Bella shrugged, pretending to be indifferent.

"Football team from UDub. They're down here for the weekend," said Edward. "Well, they're training with some coach who flew in from L.A. He's also working with the team at Port Angeles High School. I guess they're using their facilities. I'm about to do some recovery exercises with them in the pool."

"They're staying in the hotel?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Why would they come all the way down here?"

Edward shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares? Clearly you're enjoying the view." He elbowed her in a teasing gesture.

"I guess." She shrugged again.

Edward scoffed. "Please. You were practically drooling when I came over."

"Okay fine," she replied with a giggle.

Things had been a little easier between her and Edward the last few weeks. Since their meeting with James, when Edward had turned down the offer of promotion, something had shifted between them. It was subtle, and she still tried to push her crush aside, but she and Edward were becoming _friends._ Their everyday working relationship was light and fun, and conversation was no longer awkward and stifled between them.

"I guess they're hot," she said. "Besides, I'm only looking."

"Guys like that are your type, Swan?" Edward leaned in, lowering his voice and speaking directly into her ear. Bella couldn't control the shiver that ran through her at his close proximity.

"Aren't guys like that everyone's type?" She was deliberately being evasive. Sure, they were hot, but they were generic. Peter had been this type. Jacob, her only serious relationship since Seth was born, had been this type. But lately, _Edward_ was more her type.

He barked out a laugh, his face lighting up in the smile that made her heart flutter. "Well, they aren't _my_ type." It was Bella's turn to elbow him in the ribs.

"You know what I mean. I wouldn't say no to _that_. Although, they're a little young."

The smile fell from Edward's face quickly, his eyebrows knitting into a frown. "Hmm," was all he said. He quickly schooled his features into something neutral and took a step away from Bella.

"Anyway, better not keep them waiting." He turned on his heel and walked through the glass doors that led to the pool deck, leaving Bella wondering about his sudden change in mood.

Besides, there could be ten football teams in the pool half-naked, and they wouldn't hold a candle to Edward Cullen and his sexy butterfly stroke.

* * *

Bella laid her head down on her desk for two minutes to try to ease the pounding in her skull. When she'd come back into her office after ogling the football players, she was feeling a little flushed. She shrugged it off, thinking any female would be affected in the same way after seeing that much testosterone gathered in one place.

She'd worked for an hour in front of her computer, but the flushed feeling not only hadn't subsided, it was now joined with random bouts of shivering, and her body felt sore and heavy all over. She hoped she wasn't getting sick.

Bella rested her head on her arms and took deep breaths, trying to fend off the dizziness that had come over her all of a sudden. When she heard a knock on her office door, she could barely lift her head. Her invitation to come in was an unintelligible grunt. She was aware of footsteps moving across the wood floor toward her desk.

"Bella?" Edward's voice had a slight edge to it, and she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head to see Edward's concerned green eyes staring down at her. His hand moved from her shoulder to her forehead. "Shit, Bella, you're burning up."

"I think it's the flu," she said in a raspy voice.

"You need to go home, Bella." She nodded, rubbing her eyes. She'd almost fallen asleep in the few minutes she'd put her head down on the desk. Edward was patting his shorts pocket for his keys. "I'll take you; you're in no state to drive."

"I'll be fine to drive," she protested weakly.

"I don't think so." Edward's soft voice floated over Bella's flushed skin as he pulled her by the hands, up from her desk, and wrapped one arm around her waist. "Here, lean on me, and no arguing.

"Okay," she whispered, doing as he said, and basking in the comfort of his embrace as he practically carried her out to his car.

* * *

Edward insisted on helping Bella into the house and getting comfortable. She fumbled in her purse for her keys, and leaned into Edward as he unlocked the door. His arm was still around her waist.

"Where's your bedroom, Bella?" he asked as he guided her into the house. Bella's stomach flip-flopped and her cheeks blazed—not from the fever, but the idea of Edward being in her room. She shook her head.

"Couch," she mumbled into his shirt, pointing to the right. He chuckled. "All right, boss lady, whatever you say."

Bella flopped onto the couch, and the last thing she remembered was a warm blanket being draped over her. She was sure she was dreaming, or delirious with fever, when she felt soft fingers dance across her cheekbone, then tuck her hair behind her ear.

* * *

Bella woke, sometime later, feeling like she'd been hit by a bus. She tried to sit up, and winced when the pain in her head seemed to intensify as she did so.

A quick glance at her watch caused a curse to fall from her lips; Seth would have to be picked up from Sue's house soon. She'd have to see if Sue could bring him by, since she'd left her car at work. She looked around, disoriented, trying to find her phone, and then realized it would be in her purse, which was sitting on top of the coffee table.

She blinked, and frowned when she saw the things sitting beside her purse.

A Post-it that said _**Drink Me**_ , stuck to a large bottle of water.

Another one that said _**Eat Me,**_ stuck to a box of Dayquil.

Then, a larger note folded over and attached to a grocery bag. She pulled the note from the bag and unfolded it, revealing more of Edward's messy scrawl:

 _ **Bella, I called your father and he's picking up Seth from Sue's and keeping him overnight. Take the pills, eat some food, and drink lots of water, then go sleep it off. Don't come to work tomorrow, I have it all covered. Edward**_

Bella opened the grocery bag and found inside chicken soup, clementine oranges, and soft rolls. A box of tissues and a girlie magazine.

A smile spread across her face at the sweet gesture. Edward had thought of everything. She pulled out her phone and sent him a text.

 _ **Thanks for being such a good friend. xo - B**_

Bella flopped back on the sofa, waiting for his reply. When she didn't get one, she spent the next fifteen minutes contemplating what it all meant.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **That football team? that was actually a rugby team, in the hotel I used to work in. ;)**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing !**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks so much to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for Beta'ing!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

"So, how's Tinder working out for you?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Awful. I deleted it." She shuddered. "Nothing but old guys sharing their shriveled up dick pics."

"Eww." Alice wrinkled her nose. "Any more developments with the hottie from your work?"

Bella paused, wondering what to tell Alice. She wasn't sure herself of what was going on.

"I really don't know." Bella blew out a breath. "I still think he's, like, ridiculously good-looking, and I look forward to seeing him at work every day."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Alice asked, sipping her wine. They were having their regular girls' night out, but Bella had insisted on something a little more civilized this time. The best cure for a hangover was being under the age of thirty, and Bella's hangover from their last night out was a stark reminder that she was no longer in her prime. So tonight, they'd opted for a few glasses of wine over dinner.

"I'm not gonna do anything about it, Alice."

Alice sighed.

"We get along so well at work. I mean, it was quite awkward at first, but now we work really well together, and I don't want to make things weird," Bella explained. "I know there's no policy against dating, but the idea just doesn't sit well with me. Plus, he's given me zero indication that he returns my feelings."

"Why wouldn't he? You're hot!" Alice set down her fork, and held up a finger at Bella as she started to respond. "Stop. I know you're going to say it. He's too young. You think he wouldn't be interested because you're older. Ten years is nothing, in the grand scheme of things. Besides, from what you've told me, I think he _does_ return your feelings."

Bella shook her head, balling up her napkin and throwing it on her plate. She swallowed the last of her dinner and quirked an eyebrow at Alice.

"Bringing you medicine when you're sick? Bringing you coffee to work? Not to mention the fact he uses any opportunity he can to be shirtless around you."

Bella smiled at that. The first time he'd popped into her office with his shirt off hadn't been the last. It had become a regular thing, either after his spin classes or swimming lessons. She was used to it now, but it didn't thrill her any less than the first time. The sight of wet, sweaty Edward made Bella hot and bothered every time.

"The medicine and coffee thing is just what any good friend would do," she said to brush off Alice's points. "I don't think he does the shirtless thing on purpose. It's, like, he's on his way to get changed anyway, so he just takes off his shirt to save time?"

Alice snorted. "Yeah, right. He just wants to show you the goods."

"I think he's just a twenty-one-year-old guy who knows he has a good body and likes to flaunt it," Bella replied with a giggle. Despite knowing she wasn't going to do anything about her crush on Edward, this was fun, giggling with her girlfriend, talking about handsome, shirtless boys. She felt giddy inside; it was like her first high school crush all over again.

"There you go again with the age thing." Alice rolled her eyes. "Is that the only thing stopping you?"

Bella's silence spoke volumes. Alice signaled to the waiter for the check.

"I think you're being silly," said Alice, her voice lower now, laced with concern.

"Can we drop it now?" Bella snapped. Her good mood was fast replaced by a hint of frustration.

Alice shrugged, but nodded. A sly grin spread across her lips. "Listen, I know we said a civilized one when we began tonight, but I really feel like dancing. Can we go to the club?"

* * *

"I need the bathroom," Alice yelled over the pumping bassline. "You get the drinks."

Alice disappeared into the mass of bodies crowded into the bar area. It had taken them ten minutes to edge their way through and find a space at the bar, so Bella didn't mind Alice leaving her alone.

Bella was jostled among the crowd, and put her hand out on the bar to steady herself, when she felt a hand snake across her back and long fingers wrap around her hip.

"Two Dark 'N Stormies for the lady and a Bud for me," a male voice said to her left. Bella was indignant for a second, wondering who this presumptuous person was, but when she turned, the eyes that met hers stole her breath.

A quirked eyebrow, a mischievous grin, and that cute dimple met Bella's bewildered gaze. His body was pressed close to hers, and his scent reminded her of something, though the memory evaded her.

"Hey, boss," Edward drawled. His eyes roamed from Bella's face, down her neck, and to the V in her low neckline.

"Hi, Edward." She poked him in the ribs; something that had become a regular form of lighthearted teasing between them. "What are you doing here? Wait—are you even old enough to be here?"

"Celebrating my birthday!" He handed cash to the bartender. "I'm twenty-two now." He winked, and pushed a cocktail glass toward Bella with his free hand. "Dark 'N Stormy okay?"

Bella nodded. She could feel his other hand on her hip, his thumb making the smallest sweeping motion, up and down, leaving goosebumps in its path.

She hesitated for a second, and then, emboldened by the few glasses of wine she'd had over dinner, Bella threw her arms around Edward.

"Happy birthday! I should be buying _you_ a drink!" Bella didn't miss how Edward pulled her closer, both of his arms wrapped around her, his hands low on her back. Just an inch lower and he'd be touching her ass. Bella's arms were around Edward's shoulders, her hands clasped together at the nape of his neck, her fingers barely brushing the soft curls there.

"Never mind about the drink," he said, bringing his mouth close to her ear. "How about a birthday kiss?"

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading! I am a fail at review replies, I am trying to catch up, but please know that I absolutely love every single word and really appreciate the reviews!**

 **Update on Tuesday.**

 **Happy Weekend ! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks so much to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for Beta'ing! They make this readable! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

They were suspended in time, in their own private bubble, sharing only each other's breath. Without it, neither would survive; Edward's fiery words had sucked all the air from the space around them, leaving only a stifling heat that threatened to suffocate them both.

Edward pressed closer still, bringing Bella's body flush with his. His fingers danced along the small of her back, drumming out a staccato rhythm that matched the pulsing tattoo of Bella's heart against her ribs. His pinkie finger inched lower, hovering at the hem of her shirt, teasing her.

Eyes locked, they stared each other down; Bella's were wide with shock at Edward's words, while his were piercing, holding hers so intently, as though he was memorizing every detail of her face. Bella studied him, searching his eyes for a hint of humor or teasing. She found none. It made her feel as if she was really _seeing_ him for the first time.

Bella had looked at him many times; there was a certain slot in her brain that held a picture of him that she could recall at any given moment. He was a pretty face to look at; a face to go with her late night fantasies when all she had was frustration and loneliness. She knew the exact shade of his eyes and the shape of the thin scar right above his eyebrow, where he'd fallen as a child and split open his head on a step. She remembered how she'd winced when he told her the story; feeling squeamish at the thought of blood and stitches. At the time, she'd had to resist the urge to reach out and trace her finger across that scar.

Bella wondered how he'd react if she did that now. She wondered what he was thinking. Mostly, she wondered how his words had caused her to _see_ him differently. She could see them walking down a street, hands clasped together, swinging between them. She could see dim restaurant lights, him holding her hand across the table as she sipped her wine. She saw lazy Sundays in bed, drinking coffee and reading newspapers, eating croissants and getting crumbs of flaky pastry all over the sheets and not caring because that was just _them._

She saw possibility.

Bella's heart was in her throat as his face changed before her eyes. His playful, mirth-filled smile fell as his lips parted slightly. His eyes never left hers; something dark and lustful hiding in there. Bella tried to pull away, but Edward held fast, tightening his grip, so there wasn't a breath of space between them.

"Edward, I think..." She trailed off, biting her lip, realizing she had no idea what she was about to say. Was she really about to turn down something she had wanted for months now? "I don't know if this..."

The hesitation he read in her words was enough for Edward to snap out of the haze he was in.

"Shit." Edward pulled his hands away, as if he'd been burned, leaning his elbows on the bar in front of him. He barked out a laugh. "I'm sorry, that was... stupid. I'm not thinking straight..."

Bella's heart dropped to her stomach, a cruel mix of anguish and relief washing over her as the bubble around them burst, taking with it the heavy, lust-filled air and replacing it with cold, sharp reality.

It chilled Bella to her bones.

Of course, he was drunk. It was his birthday. Of course, he didn't mean it; it was the beer and shots and whatever else he'd drank. Bella wanted to laugh at herself for being so stupid.

Awkward silence fell between them, and Bella wanted to be anywhere but there. She suddenly felt caged in, and Edward appeared sullen, fidgeting with a coaster, his perfect, bushy eyebrows knit together in a frown, making no effort to break the silence.

Bella sighed in defeat and turned away, but his fingers around her wrist halted her steps. She turned back to face Edward, and gasped when she found his face close to hers again. Close enough to kiss, she realized as her heart started pounding again.

"I'm sorry, Bella..." Close enough to smell the beer on his breath as he spoke, she realized, snapping her back to reality once again. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and blinked back against the familiar tingling feeling in her eyes—the feeling of tears welling up.

"Don't worry about it, Edward." Her voice was void of all emotion. Dismissive. Casual. "Everyone says and does things they don't mean when they're drunk. Enjoy the rest of your birthday."

Then she was gone, walking away so fast that she missed the hurt that spread across his face at her words.

* * *

Bella grabbed Alice by the hand as she exited the bathroom and dragged her up the stairs to the second floor of the club.

"Too crowded down there," she yelled over the din of the music. She just wanted to get home, but she knew Alice wouldn't stand for it without a decent explanation. She also couldn't stand the humiliation of telling Alice what had just happened, so she was left with no choice but to try to avoid Edward for the rest of the evening.

Bella got served at the bar without much of a wait. Her plans for a civilized evening had gone to shit after her encounter with Edward, so she ordered a round of shots as well as two cocktails each for her and Alice.

Alice could tell something was off with her friend, but frankly, Bella had been so up and down lately that she left it be. Instead, she distracted Bella by talking about her new project at work.

After finishing their drinks, Alice managed to coax Bella on to the small dance floor of the upper floor of the club. It had a railing that overlooked the whole lower area. There was no escaping Edward, even up there. From Bella's vantage point, she could see Edward at a table, surrounded by a group of about ten guys and girls. They were taking shots, laughing, having a good time. Edward had his hand on the back of a pretty blonde.

When the girl leaned in to whisper something in Edward's ear, Bella's heart cracked a little as he threw his head back in laughter.

When the girl clasped Edward by the forearm and led him away from the group, Bella returned to the bar, demanding more shots.

And later, when a sandy haired, blue-eyed, handsome man with no name offered to take Bella home, she went willingly into a cab, into the arms, and into the bed of a stranger.

* * *

 **:ducksandhides:**

 **hashtagsorrynotsorry**

 **Don't flounce me, y'all! I know from the reviews that most of you were hoping for that birthday kiss! BUT I have a plan! This is pre-written to a certain point and outlined to the end, and I'm sticking to the plan.**

 **I'm at E &B girl and love a HEA, but for those of you who read my other stuff, you know I love my angst! Although I haven't even labelled this angst, because in my head it's not that bad. Just a little drama, y'all. **

**TRUST.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I love all your words!**

 **xo xo**

 **ps.  
TRUST ;) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Huge hugs and kisses to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing! xoxo**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Bella walked down the corridor to her office the following Monday morning, clutching a box in her hands carefully. It was dark and chilly, the dim hallway lit only by the emergency exit signs that ran along the ceiling. She was on the early shift after Tyler—one of the gym staff—had texted her late last night, calling out sick. Tyler had been due to open at 5 a.m., and Edward would be in at 6 a.m. for early morning Spin class. With other staff already on the later shift, or on vacation time, Bella was left with no choice but to go in and work with Edward.

As Bella turned on all the lights in her office and set the box on a clear space on her desk, she realized she was both anxious and excited about seeing Edward. She hated that they'd left things semi-awkward on Saturday night. She hated that she'd reacted to seeing him with another girl by going home with a random stranger. It was unlike her to do that, but her frustration with Alice, the rejection she felt when Edward had brushed off his words by saying he was drunk, and the ridiculous amount of shots she'd consumed, combined with her own sexual frustration, had gotten the better of her. Not that she was proud of that.

As one-night stands went, it was fine. Riley had been attentive and sweet, if a little sloppy and haphazard. She didn't see stars, but she didn't have to fake it, either. As soon as he'd rolled over and passed out in his post orgasmic haze, Bella had slipped from his bed and called a cab home; only too happy to avoid the awkward morning after "don't call me I'll call you" conversation.

Riley had scratched an itch that Bella could never allow Edward to satisfy.

So, the box sitting on her desk was Bella's way of clearing the air. She would apologize for being short with him on Saturday night and chalk it up to the alcohol. They'd laugh about it and things would go back to normal between them.

Well, as normal as things could be considering she harbored an unrequited crush on Edward. He'd made it clear on Saturday night that his suggestion of a birthday kiss was only a silly drunken slip of the tongue. Bella could handle being just his friend. She felt she'd gotten to know Edward quite well over the last few months, and he didn't seem the type of guy to make things awkward. They'd go back to their easy banter and good-natured teasing, and things would be fine.

Yes, things would be totally normal.

* * *

Bella's morning passed quickly, and aside from a quick hello at front desk earlier that morning as Edward was rushing into his Spin class, she'd hardly had a chance to talk to him. She eyed the clock on her desk, knowing that soon he'd be knocking on her office door for their weekly Monday meeting. Bella busied herself with tidying her desk and continued to work on the schedule for the month of April. When Edward knocked on her office door, Bella inhaled a deep, calming breath to try to soothe the butterflies dancing around her stomach. She clenched her fists together on top of the table to keep her hands from shaking, and plastered on a smile.

"Come in," she called. The door swung open, and in that moment, at the sight of him, Bella knew if she thought she and Edward could go back to "normal," she was sadly mistaken.

Bella could feel her palms sweating in her clasped fists, so she released them and smoothed her hands across the cool surface of her desk. She fought to regain her composure as her stomach did somersaults at the sight of Edward in his navy shorts and white T-shirt. Standard work uniform; she saw him in it every day, there was nothing special or different about it, but none of that rationale reduced the effect it had on her.

It seemed like twenty-two had changed him. He seemed to hold himself taller, with more confidence. The light smattering of hair that used to spread across his cheeks had now grown into a short beard. Of course, this hadn't happened overnight, but Bella only really paid attention to it now.

Edward was turning into a man.

Bella shook the thoughts away and stood, grabbing the box she'd brought in with her this morning, figuring it would be a good icebreaker.

"Morning, Edward." Bella rounded the desk, taking a step toward him. She blew out a relieved breath when both sides of Edward's mouth lifted into a genuine smile.

"Mornin', boss lady," he drawled. "How's your Monday so far?" Edward had two coffee cups in his hands, one of which he took a sip from, the other he held out to Bella.

"Oh, thanks." Bella shifted the box to one hand to accept the coffee from Edward. "Yeah, so far so good; the early shift goes by fast. Actually, this is for you." She swallowed her nerves with a sip of coffee and held out the box to him. It was a blue and white checkered cake box with a clear window revealing four perfectly iced chocolate Oreo cupcakes that Bella had made from scratch.

"Umm, to say thank you, for last week, for looking after me when I was sick..." She trailed off, looking at her feet. "And, I guess, a belated birthday treat. I made them myself."

"You made these?" He looked dumbfounded. "For me?"

Bella chuckled and pushed her hair behind her ear, before stepping away and sitting back down at her desk. "Sure. Happy birthday, Edward."

Edward's smile turned into a full-on grin as he sat down across from Bella and opened up the box.

"Wow, these look amazing," he said reverently. Bella was amused at how easily pleased he was. "I insist on sharing with you." He held open the box to Bella, who shook her head.

"Uh, no, I tasted plenty while I was baking them." She chuckled and rolled her eyes at herself. "I could stand to lose a few pounds, anyway." Bella pulled up the schedule on her computer screen again, the first point of their meeting.

Edward scoffed. "Shut up, Swan, your figure's perfect." He winked, taking a huge bite out of one of the cupcakes. His eyes closed and he moaned in pleasure as he began to chew.

Bella's own eyes closed and she inhaled deeply, realizing her own stupidity. She should have waited until the end of the meeting to give him the cupcakes. This was going to be impossible. How the hell was she going to be able to concentrate on their meeting and remain professional, when he was making noises like that and saying sweet things to her? She was ready to climb across the table and lick the icing off his lower lip, and then go at it right there on her desk.

"Bella?"

Bella's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice, realizing she must have zoned out for a second or two. She quickly pressed the print button on the document.

"You okay?" Edward frowned.

"Sure," she replied, trying to sound casual. "Just resting my eyes for a sec. Not used to 5 a.m. starts, especially after being out on the weekend." Perfect lead-in to get that awkward conversation out of the way.

Edward swallowed the bite of cupcake he was eating and cleared his throat. "Yeah, Saturday night was pretty wild."

"Yeah," said Bella. "I'm getting too old for nights like that."

Edward scowled. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Talk about your age, about how old you are? You're not old."

Bella scoffed, but didn't respond. She just shook her head in resignation.

"Listen, Bella, I wanna talk about what happened the other night."

Bella met his eyes and forced out a smile. "What happened the other night?"

Edward's eyes narrowed as he studied Bella's face. "You know what I mean," he murmured. "I'm sorry for what I said. It was... inappropriate. I..."

Bella nodded, interjecting when Edward's words trailed off. "Right, it was inappropriate. I'm your boss. But don't worry about it. We'd both had too much to drink; people say things they don't mean all the time."

He frowned. "Bella, I don't—"

"It's fine, Edward. Let's forget about it." Bella wanted to take control of this conversation before Edward could. She couldn't stand to hear him say that he wasn't interested in her in _that_ way. That it had been a drunken mistake. That he just saw them as friends. She didn't want to be rejected, so _she'd_ be the one to do the rejecting.

"Bella," he said, firmer this time. "I'm not sure we're on the same page here. I'm apologizing because it was inappropriate behavior toward you as my boss. But I didn't ask for a birthday kiss because I was drunk."

"What do you mean?" Bella whispered.

"I said it because I meant it. I wanted it. And I won't apologize for that."

* * *

 **Mixed reviews for the last chapter - and that's totally okay! This is a slow burn - settle in and enjoy the ride!**

 **Happy Friday! Happy Easter if you celebrate, and if you don't, happy weekend! I hope to update Tuesday again but with the holidays and family stuff happening things might get a little crazy. Hopefully Tuesday though :)**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing - can we make it to 300 reviews ? ;)**

 **Love you all !**

 **xoxo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

Bella felt like her body was shaking from the inside out. Her mouth went dry and the room suddenly felt too warm. She sat back in her chair and observed Edward as he picked up a second cupcake and began eating it. He held eye contact with her the entire time.

A million thoughts went through her head as she tore her eyes away. She focused on a pen on her desk, rolling it around in her fingers. What did he mean? He wanted only a birthday kiss? More than a kiss? Did he want that kiss, and more, as much as she did? Had he been having the same thoughts about her as she'd had about him?

Did he think of her when he was alone at night?

Was there truly the possibility that her crush was not as unrequited as she'd thought?

Did he want to date her? More than date her? Was he looking for a relationship? Or just a little fun on the side? Bella knew she was making assumptions, but she didn't necessarily have the best of experience with twenty-two-year-old guys. The last guy that age she'd been with had just wanted a summer fling. She'd been twenty-two herself and ended up pregnant and single.

Bella knew it wasn't fair to tar all guys with the same brush, but aside from their playful banter and casual conversation, she really knew very little about Edward on a personal level, and the age thing kept nagging at her. She couldn't see how they could have anything in common outside of work.

What were his ambitions and goals? Did he see himself settling down? What did he think of kids?

Bella didn't ask Edward any of those things. Instead, she went on the defensive.

"I'm sure you could have gotten a birthday kiss from anyone, Edward," she said, breaking the long silence between them. She winced as soon as the words were out; she didn't know why she'd said that.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bella, I didn't want a kiss from anyone else."

An image flashed in her head from the other night, and she scoffed softly. "You _sure_ looked cozy with the pretty blonde."

Edward stopped short at that. He set down the cupcake wrapper, and plucked a tissue from the box on Bella's desk. He wiped his mouth, balling up the tissue, and setting it beside the cupcake paper. Bella half expected him to look a little guilty, or maybe even a little pissed that she'd called him out, but instead, he smirked and shook his head.

"You were watching me?"

"It's not as though I was looking for you." Bella's comment was dismissive and indifferent, or at least that was what she was going for. "I just happened to notice that you left with her."

Edward snorted. "I was walking my sister to her car."

"Your sister?" Bella struggled to remember what she'd seen the other night. She'd had a few drinks, so maybe her judgement was impaired. But now that she thought about it, she realized Edward wasn't holding the girl in the same intimate way he'd held on to Bella at the bar. His hand had been flat across the girl's upper back; a simple, friendly touch. He'd held Bella close, first his hand around her hip and then both hands low on her back, his fingers skimming the top of her ass.

Edward chuckled. "Yes, my sister. She's a nurse over at Olympic. She had an early shift the next day. She came out for an hour to celebrate my birthday with me."

"Oh. That's cool." Bella tried to keep her tone casual. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"Her name's Rosalie. She's my big sister, and I'm her baby bro." Edward smiled proudly.

"It's just the two of you? No other siblings?"

"Just the two of us, and my parents. Although, Rosalie moved in with her boyfriend Royce last year, so it's only me at home now with Mom and Dad."

"That's cool," Bella repeated, a little lost for words at the revelation. She'd convinced herself Edward was _with_ the girl, and she would never have gone home with another guy if she'd thought otherwise. Still, she was glad now the conversation was being steered in a different direction. "I'm an only child. I would have loved a brother or sister growing up."

"Yeah, I mean when we were kids we fought like crazy, but now we're really close." Edward's soft smile was wistful. "But, you're trying to change the subject, Swan."

Bella sighed. Edward's words about still living with his parents only served to remind her of the gap between them. Edward could sense Bella's hesitation, and tried to bridge that gap.

"It's just a number, Bella." His eyes were intense as he studied her face.

Bella pursed her lips as she mulled over his words. She wished she could be at ease with the subject the way Edward was. But, it wasn't just a number. It wasn't simply their ages. They worked together, and it would be unprofessional. Bella hated the idea that other employees might think she was showing favoritism with Edward if it came out they were involved together—or worse: the idea that Edward was only using Bella to get ahead in his career. There was also Seth to think about. How confusing would it be for him if his coach were dating his mom? And, if things didn't work out? Working together would be awkward and weird, and Seth would have too many questions.

Bella was getting ahead of herself again. Edward said he'd wanted a kiss. That was no indication he wanted to date her or wanted a relationship with her long-term. He was twenty-two; for all Bella knew, he had a cougar fantasy and saw her as a challenge.

There were too many factors to consider, and too many ways in which it could all go wrong. It wasn't a risk she was prepared to take.

"Edward, I think it would be better if we kept things professional." She said the words, but knew in her heart that she didn't really mean them at all. They left a bitter taste in her mouth, and her chest ached at the lie.

"Oh, you think so?" Edward was cocky, and Bella found her defenses slipping.

"Yes, I do," she said evenly.

Edward shrugged, seemingly unaffected by Bella's words. One eyebrow lifted as a cheeky smirk formed on his face.

"Well, whatever you say, boss," he said in a smooth, calm voice. "I'll just have to come up with some inventive ways to make you rethink your opinion." He winked. "Thanks again for the cupcakes." Edward gulped down the last of his coffee, and Bella watched, both perplexed by Edward's words and mesmerized by the bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed. She took a sip of her own coffee, needing the buzz of caffeine to clear her muddled thoughts.

"You're welcome, Edward," she replied. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Edward shook his head, chuckling. "Friends. Right."

* * *

 **Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!**

 **Thanks for all the reviews to the last chapter ! We made it 300! woo hoo! :) Very mixed, but I'll remind you of the prologue - she mentions she hasn't seen him in four years. Without giving too much away, this will be a bumpy ride, but they will get there eventually! It IS an E/B pairing and I ship E &B forever! But! Shock! Horror! Bella slept with someone other than Edward! *gasp* ! She's not dating him and she owes him nothing. She's a grown woman - a 31 year old woman who has her head screwed on in many ways - but in many other ways, does silly things and makes bad decisions sometimes. Don't we all? ;-) **

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I truly do appreciate it ! lots of love to everyone xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks so much to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

"Easter week is filling up really well for the Swim Camp," Edward said, pulling a list of names from his folder. "We have around thirty kids so far. There's still room for about twenty more." He handed the list across the table to Bella.

It was a few weeks after their awkward conversation, and they were having their usual Monday planning meeting. Easter was just around the corner, and Bella was impressed with Edward's ideas for family events over the holiday period.

"Thirty? Wow, Edward, that's amazing." Bella studied the names on the signup sheet. "Wait—how are you gonna manage fifty kids if the rest of the spaces fill up?" Bella pulled up the staff schedule on her computer for the month of April to see how she could ensure Edward had the proper help with that amount of children. When Edward had suggested running a kids' Swim Camp over the Easter break, neither of them had anticipated there would be such a huge response.

"I guess I can put some of the college kids on the normal schedule and give you Tyler and Jess that week," Bella said, amending the schedule appropriately. "We have a couple of students who always do some temp work over the busier holiday periods. It should be fine."

"Sweet," Edward replied. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, I think you should help me with this, too." His eyes sparkled with the suggestion.

"Why? It's your show. I don't know anything about swimming."

"No, but you do know event planning, and you make a great hostess," Edward said with a smile. "You can handle the meet and greet, schmoozing with the parents, and help me organize the groups. You can even hand out awards at the end of the week. It will be a great opportunity to network and sign up new members, since a lot of kids might invite family members to the meet who aren't members of the club."

Bella nodded, her own smile matching his. She was beyond relieved that there had been no lingering awkwardness over what happened a few weeks ago. "That's actually not a bad idea. I like the way you think."

Edward beamed. "See, what would you do without me?"

* * *

"Seth!" Bella hollered to her son from downstairs. She gathered her keys and purse, listening while Seth raced around upstairs. "Come on, Seth, I don't wanna be late!"

"Coming, Mom!" Seth bounded down the stairs, the noise he made akin to that of a baby elephant. Even at the age of nine, he was all long limbs and broad shoulders, almost the height of Bella. He inherited his height and build from his father, along with his sandy-colored hair and blue eyes.

"You ready, kiddo?" Bella opened the front door, rolling her eyes as Seth stumbled while trying to put on his sneakers. As graceful as Seth was in the water, he was clumsy on dry land; something he had definitely inherited from Bella.

"Yep, Mom," he replied. "Let's go." Seth took off running out to the car, while Bella watched him with a chuckle as she locked the front door. Seth was so excited about the Swim Camp this week.

In the car, on the way to the country club, he wouldn't shut up about it.

"Mom, do you think there'll be medals if we win anything?"

Bella smiled; she knew there would be. Edward had gone all-out for this event, ordering customized T-shirts, swim caps, and special medals for every participant.

"Maybe," she teased. "Do you think you're gonna win anything?" They both knew he would. All his extra coaching with Edward was really paying off, and Seth was starting to record some fast times in the pool.

"Maybe." He shrugged. Bella was happy about the enthusiasm Seth showed for swimming, but equally happy he didn't take it too seriously. That said, Seth struggled academically in some areas, so Bella was pleased there was something for which he seemed to have a natural talent.

"Edward says I should try out for the Port Angeles Swim Club, Mom. He says I can swim just as fast as some of those kids. They get to do meets every weekend and go on special trips and stuff. What do you think?"

"I think, if you want to, then you can do that. I'll support whatever you want to do," Bella replied, reaching over the center console and clasping her son's hand. "But, it's hard work, Seth; a lot of early starts. And school would have to come first."

"I know, Mom. It's worth a try, right?" Seth's eagerness was so endearing.

"Of course, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom!" Seth was beaming from ear to ear. "I really like Edward, Mom. He's the best teacher ever!"

"Me too, honey," she murmured. As much as she'd tried to push her crush aside, even the mention of Edward's name still made her heart thunder in her chest.

* * *

"Come on, Seth!" Bella was screaming at the top of her lungs, clinging to Edward's forearm as she bounced on the tips of her toes. Edward's eyes were darting between Seth and the stopwatch in his hands, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Come on, buddy, come on," Edward muttered under his breath, his voice low in contrast to Bella's high-pitched shrieks.

It was the last day of the Swim Camp, and after a week of intense lessons and coaching, all the kids had taken part in some form of competition. For some of the younger kids who couldn't swim very far, they had bobbed up and down on water noodles chasing floating toys in the pool.

The child with the most toys at the end was the winner, but Edward had a medal for every child who participated.

The older kids did a more competitive race in the style of a proper swim meet. Seth had already won the backstroke and fly 50m races, and now he was fighting hard for first place in the freestyle. Edward was nervous, because he'd also invited a coach from Port Angeles Swim Club, his former team, to see what he thought of Seth.

Edward hadn't mentioned this to Bella.

Bella and Edward watched on tenterhooks as Seth executed his flip turn. It was a little messy; he still needed some practice on the technique, but it was efficient. Seth was neck and neck with another kid, and it would be a close call.

Cheers and screams from other kids and parents watching added to the buzz of excitement for Bella, her heart pounding and her breathing heavy as she watched Seth push the gap farther between himself and the other swimmer. Glancing at Edward, Bella smiled at his nervousness, loving how his lips moved in a quiet murmur as he watched the stopwatch, as if he was counting along with it.

Seth pushed harder, his long, wiry arms slicing through the water as the gap between him and his opponent became wider. The excitement around the pool area and from the viewing gallery bordered on hysteria, as he closed in on the finish line; the other swimmer trailing over a meter behind him now—he had it in the bag.

"YES! Come on, Seth!" Edward bellowed, causing Bella to jump. The crowd erupted as Seth's hands touched the edge of the pool, coming in at first place. Edward beamed with pride.

Bella's own excitement matched Edward's as he picked her up and twirled her around in his arms.

"He did it!" Edward was ecstatic. "He won!" Bella squealed with delight as Edward spun her around again, his large hands gripping her lower back. She put her hands on his broad shoulders to steady herself, her heart stuttering at being held so close by him. His face was inches from hers and their breaths mingled. Edward's eyes shone with excitement. He opened his mouth to speak, when they were interrupted by a small, wet body poking Edward in the side and wedging his way in between the two.

"Mom! Edward! I won!" Seth was panting, his body shaking with excitement, a huge grin on his face as Edward and Bella broke apart. Edward turned to give him a high five, as Bella pulled Seth toward her, not caring that he was soaking wet. She hugged him close, ruffling his wet hair, and placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Congratulations, baby! You were fantastic!" Seth beamed at his mother's praise, and Bella listened with enthusiasm as Seth described how he'd felt during the race. She noticed from the corner of her eye that Edward had slipped away and was deep in conversation with an older man with graying hair. Edward was making excited gestures with his hands, looking over at Seth and Bella every few seconds.

"Come on, Seth." She pulled a towel around his shoulders and gestured to the changing rooms.

"Bella!" A voice halted her in her tracks. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She turned toward the direction of the voice, scanning the crowd to see who it might be. Edward was still conversing intently with the older man, but glanced Bella's way.

"Bella!" The voice called out again, and Bella's stomach dropped when she realized to whom it belonged. He was walking in her direction, a wide, inviting smile on his handsome face—the same smile he wore when charming Bella into going home with him from the bar the night of Edward's birthday. Bella plastered on her own fake smile.

"Riley."

* * *

 **:hidesbehindMidnightCougarsbigshield:**

 **Oh dear! Haha!**

 **TRUST!**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Update on Tuesday!**

 **Happy Friday ! Love and kisses xoxoxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks so much to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing! :)**

 **Quick note: I edited the last few lines of the last chapter after posting, and I think most people caught it, but I wanted to just clarify that Riley is Bella's one night stand from a few weeks back, the night of Edward's birthday. Riley is not Seth's father. Seth's father is Peter, and he will not feature in this story except for the mention of him in Chapter two or three i think it was. Peter could be in Australia for all Bella knows :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

"Oh, so you do remember my name." Riley had a cocky smirk and smooth swagger. Bella glanced around, her cheeks heating at his words.

"Seth, go get in the shower, okay? You can get ready and I'll meet you back here." Seth nodded and dashed to the changing room.

Riley nodded in Seth's direction. "Kid's a great swimmer. He yours?"

Bella nodded, afraid to speak. She stared at her shoes; feeling like her heart had dropped there, too. She was mortified.

"How are you?"

Well, this was awkward. Riley had sought her out and was trying to make conversation, and Bella was just standing there like a statue.

She lifted her eyes to his face and cleared her throat. She remembered immediately why she'd chosen to go home with him that night. He was gorgeous, and his smile was so genuine.

"What are you doing here?"

Riley pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "I have my son staying with me for the week and he's been coming to the Swim Camp."

Bella frowned. "You've been here all week?" He nodded.

"I saw you on Wednesday, but you seemed pretty busy." Riley stepped a little closer. He towered over Bella; she hadn't remembered him being this tall. "Plus, I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me. But then, today's the last day and all, so it was my only chance to talk to you."

Riley's bashful smile was kind of endearing. He was a sweet guy.

"I..."

"We had fun that night, didn't we?"

Bella hesitated for a second, then nodded.

"I'd like to get to know you, Bella. Maybe take you out on a date?"

Bella pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, I don't really date."

Riley smiled anyway. "Tell you what, have a think about it." He took his wallet from his jacket pocket and pulled a business card from it. "Here's my number. Call me if you change your mind, okay?"

He held the card out to Bella, squeezing her fingers as she took it from him.

"I gotta run, because Jared is going away with his mom for the weekend and I have to get him back to her house, but it was great to see you."

Bella smiled. "It's good to see you, too."

"You look beautiful." He squeezed her hand again before walking away, leaving Bella standing there, gaping, with a strange fizzling sensation thrumming through her body.

Riley must have been genuinely interested in her for him to seek her out like that, especially after she'd left his bed without a word. If someone had done that to her, she wouldn't want anything more to do with them, no matter how gorgeous they were.

"Who's that guy?"

Bella had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Edward appear beside her. He watched Riley walk away, his eyes flitting to Bella's and back to Riley again. His brow furrowed when he realized how intently Bella was watching Riley.

Bella focused her attention back on Edward and cleared her throat. "Oh, just a guy I used to know at school." The lie slipped easily from her lips, and she didn't even feel a bit guilty about it.

Edward's eyes narrowed skeptically as he studied Bella's face. He'd learned to read her quite well by now, because he wasn't fooled. He didn't have time to think about it, though, because Coach Clapp had walked over to join them.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet Coach Clapp. He's the head coach with Port Angeles Swim Club." Edward gestured to the Coach and then to Bella. "This is Bella Swan. She's the manager here at the country club, but also Seth's mother."

"Lovely to meet you, Coach Clapp." Bella grasped the Coach's outstretched hand and glanced at Edward quizzically. Edward simply smiled and winked at Bella.

"Likewise, Ms. Swan." Coach Clapp nodded and gestured around the pool area with his hands. "Impressive set up you've got here. Looks like this was a very successful event."

"Thank you, but Edward did most of the work." Bella smiled and returned the wink back at Edward, who turned a little red around the cheeks.

"I'd like to talk to you about Seth trying out for the Swim Club. Is that something you think he'd be interested in? And something you'd like him to do?"

"Oh wow!" Bella gripped Edward's forearm in excitement. "Definitely. Seth and I discussed it earlier this week, actually. I was going to ask Edward how to get in contact with you."

"Excellent," replied Coach Clapp, looking at his watch. "I have to get back to set up for evening practice." He nodded at Bella, then at Edward. "Edward, it was good catching up with you. I'm glad to see you're doing so well. If you have some free time on your hands, we'd love your help at the Club. Bella, I'll have my secretary call you to arrange a meeting. I have a record of Seth's times from today, so I'm not too worried about him doing a swim tryout."

The coach shook both their hands before making his way through the crowds toward the exit.

"Edward!" Bella poked him in the stomach. "You're so sneaky! Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" A grin spread across her face and her eyes twinkled with happiness.

He shrugged. "I didn't wanna get Seth's hopes up, and I honestly wasn't sure what you thought of the idea—if you wanted Seth to join." Edward dragged his hand through his unruly hair; something Bella realized he did when he was nervous. "I'm sorry for going behind your back, but I figured it couldn't do any harm for him to come watch. I second-guessed myself all week about it, worried that maybe I should have asked you first, but you seem okay with the idea."

Bella's heart expanded in her chest at Edward's words. As cocky and confident as he could be, in moments like this, he was the shy, stuttering twenty-one-year-old boy she had first started working with over half a year ago. Bella found it endearing, and wanted nothing more in that moment than to throw her arms around him.

She barely restrained herself.

"Your instincts were right, Edward. Seth is gonna be so excited!"

Edward pressed his lips together, but Bella could see the smile in his eyes. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "Definitely."

Edward could no longer contain his smile, especially when Seth came running out of the changing room to join them. His hair was still wet and his towel hung haphazardly out of his bag, but his body practically vibrated with excitement as he plowed into Bella, throwing his arms around her waist.

"I'm so hungry, Mom. Can we go get dinner?"

Bella smiled and ruffled Seth's hair. "We gotta give out the prizes. Then I have to help Edward clear up all this stuff. There are snacks in my desk drawer in my office if you wanna go get something, but stay close 'cause you'll have to get your medal soon!"

"Oh, it's fine, I can take care of cleaning up everything." Edward shrugged. "Once we do the prize presentations, you guys should go celebrate. I've got everything covered here."

"Edward, come for dinner with us!" Seth was bouncing with delight, his mouth wide with a happy grin.

"Oh... I..." Edward trailed off, his hand going into his hair again. His eyes dropped to the floor.

"Can Edward come for dinner, Mom?"

"Yeah, Edward." Bella's grin matched Seth's. "Join us for dinner." Bella lowered her voice so that Seth couldn't hear. "You can tell Seth the good news."

Edward chuckled. "Whatever you say, boss."

* * *

 **I hope this kind of, sort of makes up for that evil cliffie I left you with last chapter? hehe ;)**

 **I am going away this weekend on Friday to visit my sister. Where she lives her internet is quite bad, so I will try my best to update before I go.**

 **thanks so much for reading and reviewing! lots of love xoxoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks so much to Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing! Those girls do such a fantastic job of polishing this up!**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Bella flopped onto her couch later that night, rubbing her aching temples with her fingers. Her body felt heavy and tired, but her mind was wide-awake and buzzing with a million thoughts.

Seth had fallen asleep on the way home in the car. He was well past the age and weight of being carried into the house, but Bella managed to sleep walk him to his bedroom, letting him fall asleep in his shorts and T-shirt he'd worn that day.

On the coffee table in front of her sat a glass of her favorite Pinot Noir and the two business cards Bella had received earlier. She chewed on her lip as she thought about the implications of those cards.

The last person Bella had expected to see at the country club was Riley. He definitely wasn't a member there, and she'd never seen him around town before. But then, it wasn't like when she'd been at college in Seattle—you could kiss a random guy in a club and never see him again in a city that size. Port Angeles was a small town—too small for Bella to hope that she'd never bump into Riley again. At the back of her mind, she knew she probably would, but she hadn't given it much thought since that night.

Her mind had been too consumed with someone else.

But, without the haze of alcohol, she could see the appeal of Riley Biers. He _was_ very handsome. The way those blue eyes had crinkled at the corners when he smiled. His broad chest and wide shoulders and the way he held himself, made Bella's stomach flip as she remembered gripping on to those shoulders as he moved inside her. There was no denying her physical attraction to him.

According to this business card, he was an accountant. Sure, it wasn't an exciting job, but it was stable, and Bella could see how Riley would be a successful businessman. Bella guessed he must be around her age, from the age lines around eyes and the confidence with which he carried himself. He hadn't been dressed in office clothes today, but Bella could tell by the fabric and cut of his casual clothes that he had expensive taste.

He had a son, and obviously was separated or divorced from the mother by the way he spoke about dropping off his son. Bella had no idea if it was a recent split or not, but maybe they'd find some common ground in both being single parents.

On paper, Riley Biers made sense.

Yet, there was something missing.

Bella took a gulp of wine and set Riley's card down. She blew out a breath as she picked up Coach Clapp's card. At the same time, her cell phone chimed with a text.

 _ **I've really enjoyed this week, it's been great fun. Thanks for all your help, and thanks for dinner. See you Monday, friend. ;) - E**_

Bella couldn't control the wide smile that stretched across her face at Edward's message. Bella had insisted on paying for dinner, as a way of thanking Edward for all his hard work. Not just that week, she'd told him, but since he'd started in the club. Seth had also been ridiculously excited when Edward told him about the possibility of joining Port Angeles Swim Club, so Bella insisted dinner was a thank you for that, too.

The text was simple, and while the thought of Riley had made her stomach flip over once, the winky face at the end of Edward's message made it launch into a full-on Olympic somersault routine. Bella inhaled deeply and placed her palm across her stomach, trying to get her giddiness under control.

She was attracted to Riley, but could no longer deny that she was absolutely smitten by Edward. Despite their awkward moment on his birthday, and the conversation that had followed, things had been so easy in recent weeks. They had grown closer with working together every day, especially on the Swim Camp project this week. They bantered with each other like the oldest of friends, and Edward had been nothing but a gentleman.

Edward had been cocky when Bella had rejected his advances a few weeks ago, saying he'd make her change her mind, but Bella was both relieved and a little disappointed that he had done nothing of the sort. He'd remained professional and friendly; although the occasional wink, secret smile, and subtle brushing of his fingers on her forearm, or a palm on the small of her back as they'd walk through a doorway, made her feel like a teenager again.

Then the coach coming to see Seth swim? The fact Edward had been so thoughtful as to arrange that? It made Bella's heart melt into a puddle of goo at her feet. Seth worshipped the ground Edward walked on, and Edward seemed to like him, too.

Bella's thumb hovered over the screen as she considered her reply. She wondered if she should be flirty, or just friendly. She was so conflicted. She couldn't stop thinking about Edward, yet she'd pushed him away when he'd clearly stated he was interested. Now she was confused. Had he accepted that, and now he was just being friendly? Or, was he still trying to flirt with her, albeit subtly?

Over dinner, his fingers had brushed with hers several times while passing salt or pepper, or eating utensils. He made constant eye contact, and was attentive and interested in what Seth had to say.

The evening had felt almost like a family dinner.

Edward made sense.

And yet.

He could be a huge risk.

Bella couldn't get past how weird she felt about the age difference. She couldn't see how they could work. Devastatingly handsome, smooth, smart, the world at his feet, and no commitments, Edward Cullen could have any girl he wanted. Bella couldn't see how she would ever be able to keep a man like him.

Her brain was so muddled. This was one thing Bella really hated about herself—the fact she was so indecisive. She'd overthink a decision, deliberating for weeks over the best thing to do, write countless _pros and cons_ lists and keep herself awake at night with anxiety over making a decision. She'd ask the opinions of those closest to her, to see what they would do in any given situation. In the end, though, she'd go with what her initial gut reaction had been when first faced with the decision, and wonder why on earth she had stressed out so much over it.

This was fine when it came to jobs, finances, buying her house, deciding where to send Seth to school. However, it was an entirely different thing when it came to Edward. There was so much to risk, and Bella honestly didn't know where her gut reaction lay when it came to him.

She did know that if she pursued him, there was a chance it could end in heartbreak. She'd had a healthy dose of that in her lifetime, and she didn't need anymore. With a resigned sigh, Bella tapped out a quick reply to Edward.

 _ **You're welcome. Thank YOU for your help. Seth is so excited about the Swim Club. See you Monday. :)**_

Simple.

Friendly.

Professional.

Navigating out of Edward's message thread, Bella downed the last of her wine. She set the glass back on the table, where her hand hovered over Riley's card again. She glanced back and forth between the card and the phone in her other hand.

Contemplating.

Indecisive.

She groaned and dropped her phone back on the coffee table, before flopping down on the couch and running her hands up and down her face.

She rolled her eyes at herself, and pushed it all to the back of her mind.

* * *

 **Poor Bella is so confused! Guys, thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I'm sorry that I haven't replied, but please know that I read and appreciate every single word! Thank you so much !**

 **Happy Friday! xox**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight (16 chapters late on that disclaimer OOPS)**

 **Hugest thanks again to my wonderful girls Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing!**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

"Edward!" Bella's voice had a frantic edge to it as she called to him from behind the front desk. He was across the gym floor, putting a client through his paces on the treadmill. His head snapped in Bella's direction, and a frown marred his handsome features as he saw the panic in Bella's eyes. She was on her own at the front desk.

There was a queue out the front door, which meant Bella couldn't scan people's membership cards quick enough; the water vending machine had broken down, they had ran out of towels, and now an older man in swim shorts was dripping water all over the reception floor, complaining about the freezing cold pool water.

Edward was at her side in instant, pressing his palm to her back.

"What can I do?" His voice was a mere whisper right in her ear, and Bella bristled at his close proximity, shifting her weight on to her other foot to create an inch of space between them.

Bella kept her voice low and spoke through gritted teeth as she tried to keep a smile on her face, unwilling to let customers see that she was agitated.

"I need you to go over to laundry and pick up fresh towels. Tyler was supposed to replenish them before he left, but I don't know what happened." She inhaled deeply through her nose. "Then call maintenance and see if we can find out what the issue is with the pool temperature. I can manage here, if you can do those two things for me."

Edward's hand moved up Bella's back and squeezed her shoulder. She shivered in response to his touch.

"Of course," he murmured. "Be right back."

Bella nodded her thanks, and Edward disappeared through the doorway that led to the hotel. She took deep breaths and counted in her head to remain calm. This kind of rush on the front desk was normal for this time of day, but they were short-staffed. Jessica had called out sick for the fourth day in a row, and Edward had back-to-back clients booked all afternoon. Tyler was unreliable at the best of times, and Kyle was only part-time. Due to the increased membership in the club in recent months, Bella would have to talk to James about recruiting more staff.

Bella would normally be in her office at this time doing reports or paperwork, but would help at the desk on the occasion that one of the trainers would have classes or clients. There would always be at least two staff on the desk, so the rush had overwhelmed her. She also had been so busy that she hadn't eaten all day, and she could now feel a headache coming on.

It seemed like Edward had only been gone a few seconds when Bella looked up to see him pushing a fresh cart of towels toward the desk. She glanced at the queue; it had gone down considerably. She must have been working on autopilot.

"Maintenance are on their way. I called them while I was waiting for the towels." Edward began folding and stacking fresh towels on to the shelves below the counter. "What else do you need me to do?" Edward motioned in the direction of his client who was still pounding it out on the treadmill. "I was almost finished with Paul anyway; he just wanted a reminder on a couple of things." He quirked an eyebrow. "I'm all yours."

Bella couldn't help but smile at Edward's enthusiasm. He always knew how lighten the mood and cheer her up if she was having a bad day.

"Thanks, Edward. I think we're catching up now. It was just crazy for a second there."

Edward laughed. "I know. You looked like a deer caught in headlights."

"Gee thanks." Bella rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm gonna talk to James about maybe hiring a few new people. Things have been kind of crazy lately."

"I'll say." Edward finished folding the towels and pushed the cart away from the shelf. The buzz had died down now and the queue was down to two people. Bella quickly scanned their cards with a smile while Edward handed them over towels. Bella blew out a sigh of relief and leaned one elbow against the counter.

Edward turned to face her, mirroring her pose. "I don't mind doing the overtime, but you're doing a lot of overtime too, and it's not ideal. Some new staff is probably a good idea. It would be good if we could get someone with some swim coaching experience; my waiting list is as long as my arm and I can only do so much."

Bella nodded in agreement. She'd already thought of that. She and Edward were often on the same page before they'd even discussed an issue.

"I'll talk to James." In that moment, Bella's stomach rumbled loudly. Her eyes went wide and she clapped her hand over her stomach. Edward was equally wide-eyed. They stared at each other for a beat before they both dissolved into fits of giggles.

"Okay, boss, I can hold down the fort here." Edward reached out and tickled Bella's side, causing her to giggle even more. "You go get something to eat."

* * *

Bella sat back in her office chair with a satisfied sigh, the lasagna and salad having hit just the right spot. One of the perks of working at a hotel country club was the food. All staff had one free meal every day, and any other snacks and drinks purchased from the hotel bistro were heavily discounted. Considering that Seth also ate dinner some nights at Sue's or Charlie's, Bella didn't have a lot of cooking to do at home. Her grocery bill was small most weeks, and she didn't have much imagination when it came to food. Seth got plenty of variety in his packed lunches for school, but Bella tended to stick to the same thing most days. She loved to bake, though, and was already thinking about ideas for Seth's 10th birthday cake in May.

Eyeing her watch, Bella pulled up a browser on her computer and opened her Pinterest account. It wouldn't hurt to take five minutes to pin some birthday cake ideas before she went back out on the front desk. Something to clear her mind for five minutes.

Although she was trying to distract herself, Bella couldn't help how her eyes kept wandering to the beautiful bouquet of spring flowers that sat in a vase beside her computer. She sighed, one corner of her mouth turning up as she looked at them.

They'd been delivered to the club around a week after the Swim Camp. At first, Bella had harbored the smallest hope that maybe they'd been from Edward. Equal parts excitement and disappointment washed over her when she realized they were from Riley. A simple note had said:

 _ **Dinner? Call me. Riley.**_

His number was also on the back of the card. It would seem Riley had planned for the possibility that she might have gotten rid of his business card; even though she still had it, buried deep in her wallet among receipts and store loyalty cards.

Bella remembered the strange look Edward had given her when she'd accepted the flowers at the front desk from the delivery guy. The way his eyes had darkened when her face had lit up in a smile, because it was always nice to receive flowers.

Edward had casually commented on the flowers later that day during their meeting. Bella lied and told him they were from her father. The look on his face told her he didn't believe a word she'd said. Bella wasn't sure why she felt the need to lie to Edward about Riley. She'd done it the night of the swim meet when Edward had walked over and asked who Bella had been talking to, and now she'd done it again with the flowers.

That had been three days ago, and she hadn't called Riley. She honestly wasn't sure if she ever would.

* * *

"Jeez, I thought that day would never end!" Edward punched in the alarm code on the small white box just inside the door then stepped out quickly. He pulled the door closed and clicked the lock into place as Bella waited. They rarely did a closing shift together, but any time they did, Edward always walked Bella to her car.

"I know, that was a crazy day," she replied. "Thank god it's Friday. I can't wait to get home and get a glass of wine."

Edward's pace slowed as they walked across the parking lot, causing Bella to glance up at him. He came to a stop, hands buried deep in his pockets.

"I could use a beer." Edward quirked an eyebrow at Bella. "You wanna go for a drink? My treat."

"Dressed like this?" Bella glanced down at her own clothing, before looking back up at Edward dressed in his gym shorts and hoodie.

Edward shrugged. "I know a place that wouldn't care how we were dressed."

Bella hesitated for a split second, torn between thinking it was a recipe for disaster and intrigued to see what it would be like to have some off-the-clock time with Edward. Seth was at Charlie's house overnight, so she wasn't in a rush to go home.

A night out in a bar with Edward. Just as friends.

Her thundering heart ruled her mouth before her brain had time to catch up.

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

 **Well, well, Bella! Throwing a little caution to the wind! :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing - really enjoying everyone's mixed thoughts on this story. some of you can see Bella's predicament and think she's right to be cautious about Edward's age! Some of you think she should just go for it! I'm not giving anything away, you'll just have to wait and see what happpens! ;)**

 **See you next time ! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**SM Owns Twilight.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen.**

Bella left her car at work and Edward drove them to a small tavern on the outskirts of town. Bella had driven past it many times on her way to her father's house in Forks, but she'd never been inside. From the outside, it looked like a dilapidated, old building, but Bella was surprised to find that inside it was bright, warm, and welcoming. Edward kept his hand on the small of her back as he ushered them toward the bar.

"Wow, this place is kind of a hidden gem." Bella shrugged out of her coat and leaned against the bar. She looked around, admiring the huge open fireplace on the far wall, the coals having dimmed to a dull orange glow. There was a pool table in one corner, where two guys around Edward's age were playing. A small makeshift stage was set up in the opposite corner, where a young girl sat atop a tall stool and played acoustic guitar, singing a slow, sultry ballad.

The bar wasn't crowded, but wasn't empty, either. A soft buzz of voices and laughter echoed around the small space, and a lone bartender with graying hair stood polishing glasses behind the bar.

"Yeah." Edward grinned, glancing around. "The owner, Marcus," Edward motioned to the bartender with a raised eyebrow, and the man made his way over, "is Royce's uncle—that's Rosalie's boyfriend. I'd been meaning to come by for a while, but never got around to it. Then one night on my way home from work, I got a flat tire right outside. Marcus here was very helpful, and I discovered what a great little bar this was."

"Edward!" The older man reached out to shake Edward's hand across the bar. "Haven't seen you in a few weeks, how you been?"

"I've been good, Marcus. How's business?"

"Same ol', same ol', can't complain." Marcus glanced in Bella's direction and surveyed her with curious eyes. "Who's your lovely lady friend?"

Bella blushed at Marcus's words but opened her mouth to respond, though the words died in her mouth as Edward stepped closer and put his hand around her hip in a possessive grip.

"This is Bella." Edward looked toward Marcus. "Bella, this is Marcus, the owner."

Bella held her hand out to shake with Marcus, finding it difficult to concentrate with Edward's hands on her. Her mind was still stuck on the fact that Edward had said only her name, hadn't mentioned that she was his boss, and hadn't corrected Marcus when he referred to Bella as Edward's "lady friend."

"Well, what can I get you kids to drink?"

Bella held back a snort at being referred to a kid, and asked for red wine.

"Red wine for the lady and a Bud for me." Edward pulled his wallet out of his shorts pocket. "Can I get a nacho plate, too?"

"Sure thing," said Marcus. "You kids sit down. I'll bring over your drinks."

Edward kept his hand around Bella's hip as he steered them toward a booth, tucked away in a dark, secluded corner of the bar.

Bella was surprised that instead of sitting across the booth from her, Edward slid in beside her, leaving only inches between their bodies on the bench.

"So you got a flat tire on the way home? Where is home?" Bella turned to Edward and rested her hand on her chin.

"Forks, where my parents live." Edward rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie and sat back in the booth. Marcus approached then, depositing their drinks on the table with a wink, before slipping away again.

"I'm from Forks too, but I moved here to be closer to work, and the schools were so much better for Seth." Bella lifted her glass, clinking it with Edward's outstretched bottle of Bud. "Thanks for the drink."

"You're welcome." Edward took a long chug from his beer, and Bella watched, mesmerized by the way his lips wrapped around the bottle. Bella could feel her cheeks heat as her mind drifted to thoughts of what she'd like to do with Edward's lips. "So, I guess you went to Forks High, huh?"

"Yep." Bella did some quick sums in her head. "Class of 2000."

Edward's brow wrinkled with a frown. "Really? I'm class of 2010. So wait, you're ten years older than me?"

Bella let out a short laugh. "Uh, yeah."

Edward sat back in the booth, wide-eyed. "Damn, girl. I knew you were older, but I didn't realize there was ten years between us."

Bella eyed him, trying to gauge his reaction. It hadn't occurred to her that Edward wasn't aware of their exact age difference; she'd just assumed he knew. But then, Bella realized, she assumed a lot of things when it came to Edward. Why would he know? It wasn't as if it had ever come up in conversation, the way it was now.

"How old did you think I was?"

Edward tilted his head, his eyes moving up and down Bella's body. She felt the heat of his gaze from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Hmm, like twenty-six, twenty-seven?"

Bella almost spat out her wine, giggling. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered by the fact that you think I look so young, or offended that you thought I was a teen mom before I even graduated high school!"

"God, yeah. I'm sorry; I guess I didn't think of it that way. Seth's almost ten, right?"

Bella nodded. "His birthday is next month."

"Hmm. Well, you do look younger." Edward edged closer to Bella in the booth, his thigh pressed to hers. "Like I said before, anyway, age is just a number. Five years, ten years. Doesn't make a difference to me." Edward licked his lips and leaned in to whisper in Bella's ear. "I still think you're hot."

Edward's eyes twinkled, that cocky smirk on his face. Bella stared down into her wine glass, feeling the heat rise on her cheeks.

"Edward..." Bella released a heavy breath. She cleared her throat and lifted her head to meet his eyes. She gasped when she realized he had moved closer still, and his face was an inch from hers.

"Bella." His eyes focused on her lips, and Bella could have sworn he moved just a fraction closer again. Her stomach flipped as she realized what was about to happen.

"Edward!" A high-pitched, female voice echoed across room, and Edward pulled away so fast that Bella could barely process what was going on. Edward muttered a curse under his breath and leaned back in the booth with a sigh.

Bella cringed back into her seat, the effort of trying to regulate her breathing causing a bead of sweat to gather on the back of her neck. Her heart raced with panic, realizing they'd almost been caught in a compromising position.

"Hey, baby bro!"

Edward turned to Bella with a sheepish smile. "My sister's here," he whispered. Bella couldn't meet his eyes, she simply stared at her wine glass, lifting it and chugging down the rest of her drink.

"Rosalie." Edward stood from the booth and greeted his sister with a hug. Bella observed the pair as they spoke in hushed tones. Rosalie was a mere few inches shorter than Edward, with her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Her wide smile was identical to Edward's, and Bella could see the family resemblance in their features. Her face was makeup free and she wore pale blue scrubs with pink Nikes on her feet. She was shrugging out of a light rain jacket, her eyes darting in Bella's direction as she and Edward spoke. Rosalie turned and held up two fingers to a tall, dark-haired man standing at the bar, who nodded in response.

Edward turned and slid back in beside Bella, while Rosalie sat down opposite them, eyeing Bella with curiosity.

"Bella, this is my big sister Rosalie." Edward turned his head in Bella's direction. "Rosalie, this is Bella. We work together."

"Hi." Rosalie held a hand out across the table to Bella. Bella returned Rosalie's smile and shook hands with the girl.

"Hi, Rosalie. It's lovely to meet you."

"You too," Rosalie said with a smirk. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Rose," Edward hissed. Bella didn't miss the way the tips of his ears turned pink at Rosalie's words and he raked his hand through his hair, his nervous giveaway. Rosalie threw back her head, giggling, as a male arrived at the table with a tray of drinks.

"This is Royce, my boyfriend." Rosalie motioned toward the man. "Babe, this is Edward's friend from work, Bella." Royce nodded at Bella and fist bumped with Edward. On the tray were a bottle of red wine and two glasses, and two bottles of beer. Bella watched as Royce distributed the drinks around the table.

"I'm sorry." Edward leaned in close to whisper in Bella's ear again. "I didn't realize they'd be here. You don't mind, do you?"

Bella glanced at Rosalie and Royce, who were already deep in conversation and not paying a bit of attention to Bella and Edward. She shook her head and smiled at Edward.

"Not at all. The more the merrier, right?" Bella's words were rewarded by Edward's wide grin. He moved closer to her so their thighs were touching again, and joined in the conversation with Rosalie and Royce, as if nothing had happened.

As if he hadn't been seconds away from kissing her when they'd been interrupted.

* * *

 **Big thanks to my girls Karen for pre-reading and Midnight Cougar for beta'ing!**

 **Sorry that there wasn't an update on Friday! I have decided now to just update this once a week, on a Tuesday for a little while. I have been working on a one shot for the Fandom for Mental Health Compilation, AND been working on the The Professor, so I'm trying to juggle all three! I almost have my FFMH one shot finished so that will be out of the way and hopefully I can catch up on this! I am a few chapters ahead, but I DON'T want to get to the stage where I post a chapter and then have to start writing the next one, and then feel under pressure, or rush it just to update - I want to stay ahead, hence the once a week updates until I catch up a bit.**

 **I'd really appreciate if you took the time to check out the Fandom For Mental Health info page and find out more about it - it's a cause very close to my heart and affects so many people in our fandom. We have over 80 amazing authors contributing pieces of writing to a compilation which is available to readers for a donation to chosen Mental Health awareness charities. Please take a look at the page and consider donating :)**

 **the page is www dot ffmh dot wordpress dot com (remove the space and word dot and replace with actual dots)**

 **and, well, what did you think of that chapter?**


	18. Chapter 18

**SM Owns Twilight**

 **Karen pre-reads and Midnight Cougar betas. Those girls rock my socks.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

"You want me to pick up Seth for practice tonight? I'm coaching." It was their usual Monday meeting, Bella's desk littered with papers and coffee cups, crumbs and remnants of their breakfast.

Edward had brought croissants this morning, making Bella complain she was getting fat. He'd swatted her on the ass and told her to shut up, but then froze, wide-eyed, as he realized what he'd done. They'd stared at each other for a beat, their expressions mirroring the other's in the most comical way, before they both burst into fits of giggles.

"Shit, sorry," he'd said. Then he'd winked. "I just couldn't help myself." Bella had come to terms with the fact Edward Cullen was the biggest flirt she had ever met in her life. Swatting her ass was the furthest he'd gone, but in the few weeks since they'd shared a night of drunken bonding in the bar after work, his subtle touches had grown bolder, and his innuendo had become more daring.

Bella's self-control was tenuous at best; a thread so gossamer thin she knew it wouldn't take much more to break it. Outwardly, she laughed off Edward's advances, but inside she was yearning for him.

Just a little taste.

"Bella? Daydreaming on me again?" Edward's voice pulled Bella back to the present. She needed to rein it in—this was happening way too often.

"Umm, sure. That'd be great, actually. I can pick him up after, 'cause I know you're there for all the sessions."

"No problem. He's doing well so far." Edward leaned back in his chair and stuffed his hands into the pocket of his gray hoodie. He wore a backward cap today, and his beard was getting longer. He looked disheveled, his eyes heavy, the circles underneath them darker than usual. He was rocking that just-rolled-out-of-bed look. He seemed alert and engaged in the meeting, so Bella wasn't concerned.

"Yeah, he loved his first session last week. It took longer than normal to get him settled for bed, though. He'll get used to it, I guess."

Edward chuckled and ran his fingers over his beard. "Enjoy the evening sessions while they last. If he does very well, he'll be moved into morning sessions. Five a.m. starts. I used to hate them; especially in winter." Edward let out a huge yawn, his head tilting toward the ceiling.

"Why're you so tired today?"

Edward rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I was in Seattle all weekend. A buddy of mine from college is getting married, so it was his bachelor party. It was kinda crazy. I'd planned to be the sensible one, but that didn't quite work out. I think I got about three hours sleep the whole weekend."

"Ah," said Bella. "Well, I have no sympathy for you, since it's self-inflicted." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Put that tongue away, Bella Swan, unless you intend to use it." Edward's gaze dropped to Bella's mouth and he licked his lips. The sound of her full name coming from his low, rough voice made Bella pull her tongue back in her mouth and press her lips together, as she began giggling. She had to laugh, brush it off; otherwise, she'd lock her office door, drop to her knees in front of him, and show him exactly what she could do with her tongue.

Edward chuckled with her, one eyebrow raised in challenge. Bella simply shook her head, took a deep breath, and turned back to her computer screen.

"Anyway, we have two new starts coming in at eleven for their first day of training. I want you to take them for the first few hours, show them everything on the gym floor, and then explain the induction process for members. Then I'll do some health and safety stuff with them this afternoon."

Bella had swiftly changed the subject, and she was relieved Edward had allowed her to move on. He focused on the meeting again, and they hashed out the staff schedule for the following month, adding in the two new hires. Edward showed Bella his plans for the summer swim timetable and proposed a Swim Camp over the summer holidays similar to the one they'd had over the Easter period.

"All sounds great," Bella said eventually as they wrapped up the meeting. "You do a great job with all this stuff—the kids and parents love it."

Edward smiled. "You make it sound as though it's all on me. I couldn't do any of this without you, Bella. The last one wouldn't have been half as successful without your input. We make a good team, boss lady."

Bella returned his smile. "Yeah. We do."

* * *

"I'm tellin' you man, she was one hot piece of ass." Tyler lowered his voice and looked around them, leaning his head closer to Edward's. "Legs for days, and her tits..." He let out a deep groan.

Edward chuckled from his spot beside Tyler. They were standing at the open fire exit at the back of the building, at the end of the corridor that housed the staff changing rooms and offices. Edward was on his break, enjoying the rare sunny weather, when Tyler had been returning from taking out trash and had stopped to ask Edward about his weekend.

"Nice, man." Edward nodded in approval.

"What about you? You never really talk about girls." Tyler nudged Edward in the ribs. "You get lucky this weekend?"

"Dude, I don't kiss and tell," Edward replied with a shrug. He was uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, but Edward had often found that Tyler had a way of getting him to spill more than he wanted to.

They'd become good buddies since Edward had started working there, even if Tyler could be a bit flaky from time to time. As assistant manager, Edward tried to be professional and maintain an air of seniority around Tyler, but Tyler didn't seem to take Edward seriously, especially since Tyler was older by a year. Even though Edward was senior to Tyler at work, Tyler had been the one to train Edward on the gym floor side of things when he'd first started. As a result, Tyler had never really seen Edward as his superior.

Still, Edward enjoyed hanging out with Tyler, and they often did weights sessions on the gym floor after a shift or during a quiet half hour. They'd gone for after work drinks twice, and they often had breaks together, just like this, catchin' up, shootin' the shit.

"You were going on a bachelor party this weekend though, right?"

"Yeah, man, it was kinda crazy." Edward chuckled and pushed his fingers through his hair, his cheeks flushing red with memories of the weekend.

"Yeah? Strippers?" Tyler's eyes lit up at Edward's nod. "Nice, man. You hit that?"

Edward winced. "Dude, no. That's gross."

"You hit something, though. I can tell, man. I know these things."

"Bullshit. How can you tell?" Edward scoffed, shaking his head. Though he wondered if it _was_ written all over his face.

"I just know. Come on, Edward, spill the beans."

Edward shrugged, still reluctant, yet desperate to talk to someone about how mixed up he was.

"It's no big deal, man. Just a girl from college. We dated for a few months up until graduation; it wasn't serious, and we broke up before I moved back here. I ran into her in the bar we were in and we got talking." Edward dropped his voice. "I ended up going home with her at the end of the night. The guys weren't too impressed that I bailed on the bachelor party."

"I'll bet. Still, you got some." Tyler held up a hand for Edward to high five, but Edward rolled his eyes and flapped Tyler's hand away.

"I know, man, but I was shit-faced, and I wouldn't have done it if I was sober. She's a nice enough girl, and the sex was good when we were together, but I like someone here at home, and I feel like I cheated or something."

Tyler's dark eyes narrowed at Edward. "What? You never told me you were dating anyone."

"Nah, we're not dating. We're just good friends, but I really like her. I think she likes me too, but it's hard to tell."

"Edward, if you're single, you didn't do anything wrong this weekend. But if you like this other girl, you should just go for it with her." Tyler shrugged, his tone so casual. Edward only wished it could be that simple. When he said as much, Tyler simply shrugged again. "Don't overcomplicate it, man."

That was the problem. It wasn't Edward who was overcomplicating things.

* * *

Bella closed her office door with a quiet click, careful it wouldn't be heard down the hall. She leaned her head on the door and scrunched her eyes closed, as if doing so would help her to unhear what she'd just heard.

She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she was heading out of her office to go to the ladies room when she heard the boys down the hall. They weren't exactly being quiet. She'd seen them at the end of the hall a few times, and always carried on what she was doing, but their conversation today had halted her in her tracks.

She'd heard every word, clear as day, until Edward got to the point where he'd gone home with some girl from college, and then she closed the door inconspicuously, unable to bear hearing anymore.

Bella took a deep breath and walked slowly back to her desk. She sat down in her chair and leaned her head in her hands, swallowing against the bad taste in her mouth. Her heart raced, not in a good way, and in that moment she wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

She felt like a ship in a storm, being tossed between relief, anger, frustration, and disappointment. She breathed through it, exhaling in and out, and when the storm in her heart settled, she was able to see the situation for what it was.

Edward was a typical twenty-two-year-old guy only interested in hook ups or casual flings. He'd flirted with Bella, made his interest in her clear, but his actions spoke louder than words. Swatting her ass that very morning during their meeting after he'd hooked up with a girl on the weekend?

Bella was so relieved in that instant that she had resisted his charms.

She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing was. It was time to move on.

In a snap decision, Bella pulled open her desk drawer, where she'd hidden the card she'd received with the beautiful flowers a few weeks prior.

She lifted her office phone and dialed Riley Biers' number.

* * *

 **Please don't throw things at me! hehe. trusttrusttrusttrusttrusttrusttrust**

 **see you next week!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks to Karen and Midnight Cougar for their awesome skills!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen**

"Birthday pool party, huh? I guess there has to be some cool perks to being the boss." The voice drifted from behind Bella somewhere, startling her, causing her to stash her cell phone into her purse on the table. She turned to see Edward walking across the pool deck toward where she was sitting watching Seth and his friends. He was all charm and swagger and messy hair, his lips pulling up into a smirk.

The sight of him still made bubbles pop through Bella's veins, despite having been on two dates with Riley.

She smoothed her skirt and folded her hands into her lap, inhaling a ragged breath through her nose. Her mind drifted all over the place, from the texts from Riley she'd been reading a few moments ago, to the strange effect Edward still had on her, even though she'd tried her hardest to push him to the back of her mind.

Edward pulled out a chair across from Bella and sat down with her in the viewing area of the pool.

"Yeah, not really. I still had to ask James' permission. There weren't any spa bookings today, though, so it was fine. He's pretty cool that way. He booked me out a two-hour slot so the kids would have the pool to themselves." Bella's voice started out shaky and grew more confident as she spoke. Her heart slowed as she looked away from Edward and concentrated on the kids again. She could hold a conversation with him if she didn't have to look at him.

"Lucky kid." Edward chuckled. "You taking them out for food after this?"

Bella nodded, still avoiding Edward's eyes. A long silence stretched between them, and Bella felt the awkward tension eating away at her insides. She'd been aloof with Edward lately, since overhearing about his weekend escapades a few weeks ago. Bella felt that putting a little distance between them would maybe help clear her head—keeping their meetings short, sharp, and strictly professional, and politely declining Edward's offers to pick Seth up for swim training.

It didn't work. Bella had found herself missing their banter and teasing, along with Edward's subtle touches and sometimes not-so-subtle innuendo. It was as if Edward could sense the change in Bella's demeanor toward him, and had stopped the flirting.

Bella was trying to figure out a safe topic of conversation, when Edward cleared his throat and spoke up. "Anyway, I should get back to the front desk, but I wanted to stop in and leave this for Seth." Edward pulled a blue gift bag from under the table and set it in front of Bella. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she stared at the bag. She hadn't noticed it in Edward's hands as he walked in; she'd been too distracted by the tempo of her heartbeat.

"Don't worry; I didn't spend a ton of money or anything." Edward gestured to the bag when he noticed Bella's frown. "I think he'll like them, though." His face broke into a huge grin as he heard Seth calling his name from the pool. He stood to greet Seth as he climbed out of the pool and came over to them.

"Edward!"

"Hey, buddy." Edward held up his hand and met Seth's in a high five. "Happy birthday."

"Is that a present for me? Can I open it now? Are you coming for dinner with us?" The questions flew from Seth's mouth quicker than Edward could process them all, causing Edward to chuckle at Seth's excitement.

"Yes, it's a present for you. Yes, you can open it now if your mom says it's okay. And no, I can't come for dinner; I'm working until close."

Bella watched their exchange with a heavy heart. Seth was so fond of Edward; he never shut up about him on the way home from practice. It was no wonder Bella was having a difficult time getting Edward out of her mind.

"Mom, can I open Edward's present?"

Bella couldn't refuse Seth's excited grin, and nodded, turning her eyes toward Edward and mouthing a "thank you," to him. Edward responded with his signature wink, making Bella's stomach flip. Seth ripped open the gift bag, sending tissue paper flying everywhere, revealing a brand new set of fins.

"Awesome! All the guys on the team talk about these fins!" Seth pulled the fins out of their packaging and held them up. "Look, Mom! It's the new fins designed by Michael Phelps! Can I try them out now? Oh, my God, all the guys on the team are gonna be so jealous! Thank you, Edward! Seth threw his arms around Edward's waist and squeezed him tight. Edward chuckled and hugged Seth back, not seeming to mind that Seth was soaking wet. Seth was gone in a flash, sitting on the edge of the pool, putting the fins on his feet, before standing and executing a perfect dive into the pool. Seth's buddies were all riveted by the speed at which he flew up and down the pool with the fins on.

"Wow." Bella stood from her chair and moved to stand beside Edward. "You've made his day. Thank you, Edward. Although, you really didn't have to do that."

Edward shrugged and nudged Bella in the ribs. Two weeks of awkwardness were instantly erased with the familiarity of their old teasing gesture. "Nonsense. He's my little buddy. Besides, it makes my job as his coach a little easier."

"Well, thank you. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Anyway, I better get back to work." Edward looked down at himself, shaking his head. "I should probably find a dry shirt, too."

Edward started to walk away, but then stopped and turned back to Bella. "Hey, save me a slice of birthday cake, will ya?"

Bella nodded, unable to find her voice. She was more confused than ever.

* * *

Bella flopped on to her couch later that night, breathing out a sigh of relief as Alice topped up her wine glass and sat down beside her.

"God, ten-year-old birthday parties are exhausting." Bella held her glass up and clinked it with Alice's. "Thanks for helping me out tonight."

Seth had only invited five friends to his birthday party, but the boisterous boys were a lot of hard work. After the pool party, Alice had showed up to help Bella drive them all to the nearby Gordy's pizza for dinner. Bella had no idea six boys could make such a mess. She was glad she'd decided not to have a party at home for Seth. After dinner and cake at the restaurant, the parents of Seth's friends picked them up, and Bella, Alice, and Seth made their way back to Bella's house for more cake and present opening with Charlie and Sue.

Now that everyone except Alice had gone home and Seth was in bed, Bella felt like she could finally relax.

"No problem. I'm glad I could get back in time for Seth's birthday; I would have hated to miss it. Work's been crazy lately. Flying back to New York on Monday."

"Hmm." Bella sipped her wine. "At least you're doing something you love, though."

Alice was a fashion designer, and had recently been discovered and backed by an investor to put her label on the map. As a result, she'd been traveling a lot lately, sourcing the best fabrics, in meetings with buyers, and supervising the production process.

"I do love it," she replied with a grin. "Speaking of work, how are things with you? Do you still have that crush on the young, hottie swim teacher?"

Bella groaned and downed the rest of her glass, heading to the kitchen for another bottle of wine. She was going to need it for this conversation. Alice had a way of coaxing all the details out of Bella.

Bella opened the bottle and poured herself a fresh glass, sat down on the couch again, and proceeded to tell Alice the whole sorry tale of her unrequited crush on Edward. How the ever-growing flirtation confused her, coupled with their night out in the bar, the conversation she'd accidentally eavesdropped on, and her recent dates with Riley. By the time Bella had finished speaking, Alice looked more than a little perplexed.

"So, wait. You overhead _half_ a conversation and reacted by calling this guy Riley for a date? The same guy you regretted having a one-night stand with and you weren't even sure you liked?"

"Alice, it's not like that—"

Alice cut her off with a sharp laugh. "It's exactly like that, Bella. You slept with this guy after reacting to seeing Edward with some girl in a club. You were drunk. You even told me a few weeks later that the girl had been Edward's sister. We all do stupid things when we're drunk, but don't you think you're being a little hypocritical? You can't be mad at Edward for a drunken one-night stand when you did the exact same thing a month ago!"

"God, I know, Alice." Bella sighed. "But this was his ex-girlfriend. That means something. It wasn't just a random girl he met in a bar."

"Bella, there's bound to be a reason she's his ex. If you'd listened to the rest of the conversation, maybe you'd know why! Why don't you just talk to him?"

Bella huffed and set her wine glass on the coffee table. Alice was right, as much as she hated to admit it. This was what worked about their friendship: Alice was a straight-talker and didn't allow Bella to wallow in any of her bullshit.

"I'm sorry, babe, but for as much as you go on and on about Edward being inappropriate for you because he's younger, you're the one being a little immature here." Alice reached across to squeeze Bella's shoulder.

"I know," Bella whispered. "It just scares me how much I feel for him."

"Well, no matter what you decide to do about Edward, you should probably call off things with Riley. It's not fair to him if you feel so strongly about someone else."

"You're right. He's a great guy, but he's not..."

"He's not Edward?"

"Right."

* * *

 **Sorry this update is a day late! I'm back at work after 5 months off, so it's been a bit of an adjustment and a lesson in time management! this will still update once a week, though!**

 **Thanks so much to Iris & PfkFF for always pimping my updates! **

**And thank YOU all for reading and reviewing! sit tight, guys, we're getting close!**

 **Ps. The Professor readers - would you like an update? Some lemony smuttiness, or would you rather wait a bit longer for a chapter with some actual plot and character development?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Karen pre-reads and Midnight Cougar betas. They rock. Any mistakes are mine!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

Bella rolled her eyes and took a deep breath against the irritation that was building up inside her. Riley Biers was nothing if not persistent; she could give him that much. Bella plastered on a fake, sweet smile as the delivery man handed her a bunch of flowers over the counter and asked for her signature. She gritted her teeth as she signed her name across the small tablet screen and the delivery man wished her a nice day.

It was mid-morning, and Bella was relieved the club was quiet so no one was around to see the flowers. She set the vase on the floor behind the counter and plucked the card from the top of the bunch.

 _ **Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady. How about that third date? Call me. Riley.**_

Bella sighed. She knew she had a phone call to make. Since her conversation with Alice, she'd been avoiding Riley's calls, and responding to his texts with short, non-committal answers. It wasn't fair to him to hope he would get the hint and let things fizzle out naturally. She was an adult, and she had to be assertive and tell him what she wanted.

Or, in this case, what she didn't want.

She'd make that call, soon. She'd tell Riley she wasn't interested in taking things any further. He was a nice guy, but Alice had hit the nail on the head.

He wasn't Edward.

No one could compare to Edward. Even the fire she'd felt during her hot and sexy summer fling with Seth's father was lukewarm compared to the raging inferno she felt when Edward was around her.

Her relationship with Jacob, the one and only serious relationship she'd had since Seth was born, was passionate. Jacob had been intense and possessive, but he was also self-centered and spoiled. They always did what he wanted to do or went places he was interested in. After a year of verbal sparring and crazy makeup sex, Bella realized they had nothing more in common than that. They were good at fighting, the sex was better, but every other aspect of their relationship was lacking.

After Bella walked in on Jacob about to raise his hand to Seth in discipline, Bella gave him his marching orders. Looking back, she wondered how they'd even lasted a year.

Bella wanted that fire and passion in a man; that feeling of wanting to rip each other's clothes off, that feeling of not being able to keep your hands off each other, that feeling that you'd do absolutely anything to see the other come apart.

But, she also wanted lazy Sundays with breakfast in bed, and someone who accepted her and Seth as a package deal, not as some form of baggage. Someone who _wanted_ to go for family walks and parent teacher meetings. Someone who arranged surprise dates, taking her to the theatre or art galleries or even a picnic in the park.

Someone who would hold her when she was tired or sick; who was content just to be with her in silence when she wasn't feeling up to doing fun things.

It was as though a switch had flipped in her brain, and she could see with startling clarity.

God, how could she have been so stupid? Edward was all of those things, and more. He brought her coffee and breakfast to work most mornings. He took care of her when she was sick, bringing her home from work and buying her medicine and all the necessities she would need to feel better. He was confident and cocky, without being an egotistical asshole. There was something about the way he held himself, the way he talked to Bella, and his sometimes-blatant sexual innuendo, that told her he'd be an absolute firecracker between the sheets. Best of all, he seemed to adore Seth, and the feeling was mutual. Seth never shut up about Edward.

Was she simply projecting what she wanted in a man on to him? Was it just the idea of him?

One thing was for sure, she'd never know unless she tried. Until now, she'd made so many excuses to reject his advances, but she was done with excuses. Too many what ifs had plagued her mind; the main one coming down to, what if it didn't work out?

Now, Bella was thinking, what if it did?

What if Edward Cullen was worth the risk?

Bella was so deep in thought, staring into space and contemplating the idea of a relationship with Edward, that she didn't notice him sneak right up on her until he'd plucked the flower card from her hand.

Bella gasped and whirled around, her heart pounding a panicked rhythm in her chest. Edward was standing behind her, holding the card high up in the air above him, where he knew Bella wouldn't be able to reach. The smirk on his face fell quickly when Bella saw only one solution to the predicament.

She launched herself at Edward, bringing her fingers to the space between his ribs and his hips, tickling him until he dropped his arms in an attempt to fend off Bella. Giggles and gasps filled the small space around the reception area as gym users looked on with amusement at seeing the two staff horsing around. A full-on tickle fight ensued, the flower card long-forgotten, having been dropped to the ground in the scuffle. Edward's strong arms clamped firmly around Bella's hips as he backed her into the small sales office off the reception desk.

They stood, Bella's back against the wall just inside the door. Their giggles faded and were quickly replaced by silence; the only sound in the small space was their heavy breathing as they caught their breath. Edward hovered in front of her, half in the door and half out of the door, his eyes darting between Bella's face and the front desk, keeping an eye out for customers approaching.

There were mere inches between their bodies, and Edward's hands on Bella's hips felt like heated massage mitts, warming her flesh and causing her insides to heat up like lava. She could feel his hot breath wafting over her face as tension filled the room.

"More flowers from your dad, Bella?" Edward whispered roughly, and Bella shook her head. "The first bunch weren't from your dad, either, were they?" Edward smirked. "Is that the way to your heart? Flowers?"

Bella shrugged. "They're nice and all, but the guy who sent them isn't for me. I don't plan on seeing him again." Bella drew in a ragged breath. She'd just admitted to Edward that she'd been dating someone, but she figured it was best to be honest if they were to move forward at all.

Edward chuckled, his eyes darting out to the front desk one more time. "Well, that's good to know." He didn't seem at all fazed or surprised by the mention of another guy. His grip tightened on her hips.

"Why's that?"

His eyes slid back to her face and he leaned in closer, their faces just a breath apart. "Because I can do better than a bunch of flowers," he said, his voice rough and low. "Bella, if you'd let me, I'd give you a garden of flowers. A whole fucking meadow full."

"Edward..." Bella's voice caught in her throat, unable to say anything else. Worries about him being a player, or being too young, vanished from her mind. All she could focus on was this dizzy, intoxicating feeling that washed over her every time they were together. Edward stirred up the fire that was begging to be released from inside her. How could she deny herself this any longer?

"Stop fighting this, Bella. You know we'd be perfect together."

Bella sagged against the wall, all the fight having left her. "I'm not... I'm done fighting this."

Edward's eyes lit up like the Rockefeller tree, and he leaned in closer. Bella gasped, her hands coming up to rest upon his chest. Any closer and his lips would have touched hers, and as much as Bella wanted that, she was on high alert about where they were right now.

"Edward, we can't do this here." Her words chastised, though her tone said anything but. She was desperate with desire.

One eyebrow lifted. "Here? But we can do this somewhere else?"

Bella felt stifled in the small space. She pushed Edward away and paced the length of the small office. "Okay, I have to ask. What do you mean by 'this'? I need to know, is this just a bit of fun to you?"

Edward's cocky smirk dropped as he ran a hand through his hair, his classic nervous reaction. He stuffed both hands into his shorts pockets and cleared his throat. "I wanna take you out. On a date. I like you a lot, Bella. I think I've made that pretty clear." He shrugged. "Let's see where things go."

Bella was content with his answer. It would be unfair to demand anything more from him at this stage. She smiled for the first time since they'd stepped into the office. His grin matched hers.

"Okay."

* * *

As luck would have it, conflicting work schedules, Edward's extra coaching outside of work, and plans that Bella had already made with Alice, meant it would be two weeks before they would be able to plan a date.

It wasn't ideal. Now that Bella had gotten her head out of her ass and decided to take a chance on Edward, she was desperate to spend time with him. To see him in casual clothes, outside of work. To eat and drink with him, sharing sneaky glances at one another across a table. To touch him, taste him; maybe even invite him home with her at the end of the date.

Still, she figured they'd waited long enough, what were a few more weeks?

Edward didn't have the same patience, though. In the week that followed their conversation in the sales office, he couldn't keep his hands off Bella. When it was just the two of them, in her office, or in quiet periods on the front desk, he found any excuse to touch or tease her. A tug of her ponytail here, a hand on the small of her back there. He'd press his front to her back as he squeezed past her at the desk, even though there was plenty of space just to walk past. In her office, he'd pull her into his arms at the end of their meetings and kiss her forehead. He offered her rides to and from work when they were working the same shifts, and would walk her to her door and press her against it, peppering kisses all over her face and neck.

Never on the lips, though.

Bella knew he was teasing her, fanning the flames, building up the anticipation, but she also held fast to the ridiculous, romantic notion that he was saving their first kiss for their first official date.

The feeling of his lips on her skin made her insides blaze. She knew that when his lips finally touched hers, the explosions would rock her to her core.

* * *

 **Sorry this is a little late! Adjusting to being back at work is harder than I'd thought it would be! But the good news is the next chapter is written, and the one after that is half written, so we will be back to once a week updates!**

 **Guest reviewer - seriously, go read something else. I gave fair warning at the start of this story that it would be a slow burn. If it's getting 'tiresome', SERIOUSLY, go read something else. There are plenty of smutty stories out there. Bye, Felicia.**

 **To everyone else, thank you so much for all the kind words and encouragement, and for continuing to read and review ! Lots of love to my pre-reader and beta, Karen and Midnight cougar, and of course Iris and PFK_FF for always pimping the updates, and to the ladies at TLS for featuring it on the blog a few weeks ago, and also to ADF for featuring it on their fic dive!**

 **See you next week *kisses***


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks so much to my girls Karen and Midnight Cougar for all their hard work! See you on the other side.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

Their date was planned for that Friday. Bella floated to work on Monday morning, dreamy-eyed and giddy, despite her lack of sleep. She'd been texting Edward late into the night, telling him about her weekend in Seattle with Alice.

They texted a lot now. Before, it had been about work-related things. But, in the last week, things had gotten more personal, and if they weren't at work together, they were texting. They'd shared random facts and childhood memories. Edward asked about Seth as a baby, and Bella asked about college life in Seattle—since Edward had only graduated last year. It made Bella wistful for her time at college, and she found herself laughing at Edward's funny stories from his fraternity days. With every text and anecdote, Bella was like a sponge, soaking up every little bit of information about Edward before their date.

Her girls' weekend in Seattle with Alice had been planned for quite some time, and Edward had teased her via text message that she'd better be behaving and not kissing any boys. Last night, she'd assured him that her lips had not touched another's.

Bella's Monday morning was so busy that she didn't get to check her text messages. Edward was coming in to do the late shift, but when she sat down at her desk at noon to grab a quick bite to eat, she frowned when she checked her phone.

 _ **Gotta take a sick day, something's come up—family emergency. Really sorry for the short notice. I'll call you later. E.**_

* * *

Edward didn't call, and he didn't come into work on Tuesday, either. He hadn't returned any of Bella's concerned text messages or phone calls. She was getting worried, not to mention agitated. Employees were obligated to call in every day they would be off, regardless of the circumstances, for up to a week—after which, a doctor's note was required. Not calling in on Tuesday was considered grounds for disciplinary action, and Bella was uncomfortable at being put in that position. Did Edward think she would turn a blind eye to the rules just because something was going on between them now?

By Thursday, the day before their date, Bella was pissed. She'd had a missed call from Edward, late last night when she'd been driving home from work, but by the time she got home and called him back, he didn't answer. He'd sent her a mysterious text early that morning, which had left her with a strange sense of foreboding.

 _ **I'm so sorry about all this. I'll be in touch soon and tell you everything. E. xox**_

Adding to her ire, she was surprised to find James Hunter sitting behind her desk in her office when she arrived at work. James rarely came down unannounced, and when he was there, he used the sales office behind reception. Bella's office was her personal space, and she huffed and dropped her purse on the desk, causing James' head to snap up from the papers he'd been poring over.

"Good morning to you too, Bella. Lovely to see you. I'm great, thanks for asking." James' tone dripped with sarcasm, and Bella rolled her eyes, not in the mood for him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came down to get the ball rolling with recruitment, since those two new starts you hired last month were shit." James snorted. Bella winced at his words. It was the first time she'd hired the wrong people for the job. They'd only lasted five and six days, respectively. Now, with Edward out sick, or whatever he was, they were short-staffed. She'd emailed James last week about the other staff, but had yet to update him on what had been going on with Edward.

"Plus, we need to recruit a new assistant manager as a matter of urgency, since you're losing Edward." James continued to scan what appeared to be a pile of resumes in front of him.

Bella's heart dropped to her stomach. She frowned. James was firing Edward? How did he know Edward had been absent all week? Although he hadn't called in properly, surely they had to adhere to the proper disciplinary procedures? She hadn't even had a chance to issue a first verbal warning.

"What are you talking about?"

James looked up at Bella again, surprised at the puzzled expression on her face. "What... he didn't tell you?"

A wave of nausea rolled through her stomach. "Tell me what?" she whispered.

"Edward got a new job. He starts next week."

"Fuck." The muttered curse came from neither James' nor Bella's mouth. Bella whirled around to find Edward standing in the doorway of her office, glaring at James. Bella's mouth dropped open, speechless at James' words and the murderous expression on Edward's face.

James held up his hands in defense, his expression a strange mix of wide-eyed dismay and slight arrogance. "Sorry, man. I thought you guys had already spoken about this. My bad." James stood and rounded the desk, coming to stand beside Bella. He motioned between her and Edward, then cleared his throat, an awkward, sheepish smile on his face. "I'll leave you two... uh... yeah... you guys should talk."

Edward and Bella's eyes locked on each other as James left the room. Bella noticed the dark shadows under his eyes were more pronounced than ever, almost bruise-like. His hair was more chaotic than usual, and he simply looked drained, as if he hadn't slept in a week. She couldn't even appreciate the casual clothes he was dressed in: dark jeans and a white T-shirt that clung to the contours of muscles in all the right places. She was so distracted by the distress that seemed to weigh down on her shoulders.

She had to sit down, before she fell down. On shaky legs, taking short, shallow breaths, she sat down in the chair that James had vacated.

"Edward? What is he talking about?" Bella couldn't talk any louder than a whisper for fear her voice would crack; the same as her heart was cracking right now. She bit her lip hard, dug her fingernails into her fist on top of the desk, but this was no dream she could wake up from.

"Fuck," he repeated. He barked out a laugh that held no humor. He paced the length of the room. He tugged at his hair. He sighed.

He stopped, sat down across from Bella. Cleared his throat.

"A few months ago, I applied for this position on a whim, because I thought it sounded awesome. I didn't even expect to get anywhere with it. It's really competitive, and I thought I had no chance." Edward paused, his eyes drifting from Bella's face to her clenched fists and back again.

"I kinda forgot about it until I got the call on Monday—"

"I thought you had a family emergency?"

Edward looked all around the room, everywhere but Bella. "I lied." His voice dropped, shame creeping into his tone. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that. I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure. They called me on Monday morning to arrange a Skype interview that day."

"Who did?" Bella swallowed against her exasperation, the urge to tell him just spit it out.

"Team USA Swimming." Edward chewed his bottom lip as he contemplated his next words. "I guess I should backtrack a little. I haven't told many people this, but in my junior year of college, the goal was working toward the Olympic qualifiers. My times were good—and my coach was working me harder than ever. I was training twice a day for hours at a time—my life was pretty much swim, go to class, sleep, repeat. Coach McCarty thought I had potential to go pro."

Bella watched as Edward's face changed before her eyes. Recalling his college days, he spoke of his swimming training with a tone of wistful reverence and a nostalgic smile on his face. However, his forehead creased with a frown and his lips turned down as his eyes darkened.

"My left shoulder always gave me problems. Overuse and tendinitis. I took good care of it and had regular physical therapy—but I always felt it held me back from going that precious quarter second faster."

"But I've seen you in the water." Bella frowned. "You're really fast." Despite her initial shock and frustration, Bella found herself intrigued by Edward's story—and she had a strange feeling she knew where it was going. It was like reading a book with a predictable ending—the kind you saw coming from the very first chapter.

The same way she'd known from the moment she laid eyes on Edward Cullen that he had the potential to break her heart.

"Not fast enough." Edward rolled his eyes. "Not anymore. What you've seen me do in the pool here is snail's pace compared to how fast I used to be able to go. The winter before last, my car hit black ice on the way to early practice. It was a weird, freak accident. The car rolled and landed on its roof with the front end completely caved in. I was lucky to survive. I dislocated my collarbone where it meets the bad shoulder. The major ligaments in that area were damaged and surgery was risky. I had intense physical therapy, but I was out of the game for three months, and when I got back in the pool, I could barely manage two laps.

"It's taken a year for me to build the strength back up in my shoulder, to swim even recreationally—for general fitness. I fought it hard—didn't want to give up on my Olympic dreams. But it wasn't enough." Edward's voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll never swim competitively again."

"Wow," Bella whispered. Her heart ached for them both. "I'm so sorry, Edward."

Edward blew out a breath and shrugged. "S'okay. I dealt with it. Focused on my studies and getting my coaching certification. I gave my swimming one hundred percent, so when I couldn't do that anymore, I threw myself into everything else."

"You sure did." Bella bit her lip and blinked back the tears she could feel welling up in her eyes.

"Giving things one hundred per cent included this job, and it also included you, Bella. That is, until I got the call on Monday. The position I applied for is an assistant coach, working with the development squad. I'd also have the opportunity to work with the elite athletes and might even get to travel to Rio next year. I didn't even know that Emmett McCarty, my old coach, worked for them now. So, I went in to this Skype interview on Monday afternoon, nervous as hell and thinking I had no chance, and there was Coach McCarty and two other guys looking back at me. According to him, it was a no-brainer. He insisted to his associates that he wanted me. I'll be working directly under him."

"Edward, that's amazing!" Bella was suddenly so caught up in her excitement that she momentarily forgot her anger and frustration. But when she saw that Edward didn't look so excited, her smile quickly dropped. "You should look more excited than you do."

"Fuck." Edward scrubbed his hands over his face. "I am excited. This is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'd be kicking myself if I turned it down." He shook his head, silence stretching between them.

"Why would you even consider turning it down?" Bella was incredulous.

His eyes locked on hers, and Bella's stomach flip-flopped with the intensity of his gaze. It burned her insides, and he had no idea. "Because the fucking timing couldn't be worse. You and I are just getting started."

Bella couldn't help the dubious laugh that escaped her. "There is no way you are turning this down, and absolutely no way you are putting this on me. I won't let you, Edward." As much as it hurt her to say the words, Bella took a deep breath and put on her poker face. "Edward, you're young, free, and single. You have no kids, no ties here. Nothing holding you back. You have to go."

"God, I know." Edward sighed heavily. "I love this place, though. I love this job. I love seeing you every day. I love coaching Seth." He chuckled. "That kid is something else."

Bella had no idea what to say in response to that. How could she tell him how she truly felt?

That Seth adored him and would be crushed at him leaving.

That the club wouldn't be the same without him and that she'd go back to hating her job.

That she wished things could be different—somehow.

"When do you leave?"

"They want me to start on Monday. They booked my flight to Colorado for Sunday. I already talked to James yesterday and gave him my immediate notice. I've been packing up my stuff and getting things in order. I'm sorry I didn't tell you first—that you had to find out this way. That was really shitty of me, but I was overwhelmed. I know it's no excuse."

Bella realized that despite Edward's words, despite him saying he loved this place and would miss it there, his actions spoke louder. His path was set.

He was leaving her. And so soon.

"I... Don't worry about that. I was just worried about you. But it looks like I didn't need to." Bella tried to sound cheery, but it fell flat. She wanted to cringe at the awkward tension that surrounded them.

Edward stood, crossed to Bella's side of the desk, and held out his hand. He pulled her up and into his arms, wrapping his hands around her waist. Bella could no longer hold back the emotions welling up inside of her, and the dam burst as a single tear fell down her cheek. Edward cupped one hand around her face and swiped the tear away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Don't cry, please," he whispered against her forehead.

She chuckled through her tears. "It's fine. I'm fine. As you said, the timing sucks. But I think it would be worse if we were already more involved. We've had this time together. You've been a great friend, and I've loved working with you. I'll always cherish every moment we've spent together."

Edward swallowed. "Bella, I know this is a lot to ask, and totally selfish of me given the circumstances... but can we still have our date tomorrow night? And can you bring Seth? I just want to spend time with you both before I leave. I want a chance to say goodbye to him."

The best thing to do would've been to say no. To have a clean break. To let him slip away without an emotional goodbye. It would be easier on her and Seth. Edward, too.

But common sense had left Bella two weeks ago when she'd agreed to a date with him. As much as it was going to break her heart to say goodbye to him, she was desperate to spend every possible minute with him before he left.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'd love that.

* * *

 **I'll be going into hiding now ! This chapter was a bit longer than earlier chapters, but I didn't want to split it and leave it hanging on an evil cliffie.**

 **You all knew it was coming, but just trust me on this, yeah?**

 **Love reading all your thoughts and kind words on the story - thanks so much for all the reviews! And Especially to my 600th reviewer, Bornonhalloween! kisses!**

 **See you next week.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Karen and Midnight Cougar are awesome! thank you girls!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

* * *

"So, you're gonna coach Olympic swimmers?" Seth mumbled through a mouthful of pizza. Bella swallowed her own bite and wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"Remember your manners, Seth," she said.

Edward had picked them up and they'd gone to Gordy's—just like the last time they'd ended up out for dinner after the Easter Swim Camp.

Earlier in the week, Bella had arranged for Seth to sleep over at her father's house so she could go on her date with Edward. When Bella told Seth that Edward wanted him to come too, Seth was excited, but he still wanted to spend the night with his grandpa. As a result, they were going for dinner, then Charlie would pick up Seth and take him to the movies.

Leaving Edward and Bella alone for the rest of the evening.

Edward took a sip of Coke. "Well, I'll be mostly assisting, but yeah. I guess I'll know more when I arrive in Colorado."

"That's really cool, Edward. Can we visit sometime? Do you think I'd get to meet Phelps?"

Edward's eyes slid to Bella's face. Her cheeks flushed with color at Seth's words. "You'd have to ask your mom. But I'd love to have you guys visit." Edward's eyes twinkled with mischief. "As for meeting the legend himself, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed."

"I'll miss you, Edward." Seth grabbed for the last slice of pizza. "But you know what? I'm gonna work really hard, and then someday I'll be good enough to go train there, with you. And maybe I'll qualify for the Olympics. And you can be my coach, and maybe I'll get a gold medal. Though I'd settle for a silver."

Edward laughed, and Bella couldn't help but join him. Edward held his hand up and Seth met him in fist bump. "That sounds like a good plan, buddy."

Bella sat back in the booth and heaved out a breath of relief. Seth was taking it better than she'd expected. Now she had to try to get through the rest of this night with a brave face, and once Edward was gone, she could fall apart.

* * *

Bella waved at Charlie and Seth as they made their way into the movie theatre, before glancing both ways and crossing the street to where Edward was waiting for her.

"I'm gonna miss that kid." He chuckled, holding out his hand for Bella. She pushed his words to the back of her mind and linked her fingers through his without hesitation. He grasped her fingers as if they'd been holding hands for years. For just one night, she wanted to pretend. She wanted to save this night, make it theirs, make it special. Make it a memory to last forever.

She wanted it to be as though it was the first of many dates. And even though it would be their last, in many ways, it didn't feel like their first, either.

It felt like they'd been a couple for years. There was a familiarity and ease to their interactions since Edward had made his announcement. As though they both just wanted to be in the moment and enjoy what time they did have together.

Bella wasn't sure her heart could take it, but she'd worry about that after he'd gone.

They walked along the pier, talking about nothing of significance. Edward pointed out the fishing boat that belonged to his grandfather, and the small restaurant on the main street that he supplied fish to years ago, before the big fishing companies took over.

Night was falling, the pink sky adorned with a thousand white dots, stars that Bella wanted to wish upon. If she believed, she'd wish that things could be different. That Edward was ten, heck, even five years older, and they'd met in another time, another place.

But wishes were the stuff of fairy tales, and Cinderella she was not.

Shadows fell across Edward's face, his features morphing, and his eyes dancing as he reminisced about fishing trips with his grandfather and jumping off the boat into the bay.

It seemed like he was grasping on to as many memories as he could, before he had to leave everything he'd known for so long.

Bella simply listened, enjoying the soft lilt to his words. His voice, paired with the crashing of waves on the pillars below them, and the two large glasses of wine she'd had with dinner, Bella found herself lulled into a state of blissed-out relaxation. She had no feet; she merely floated along, dreamlike and far away, lost in her own head, imagining her and Edward in another time.

"Bella?" Edward's hand tightening around her own pulled her out of her musings. He'd stopped, studying her face with a frown. "You okay? Where'd you go just now?"

"I was thinking... I want to kiss you." Bella bit her lip, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. She wasn't used to being so bold, but figured she had nothing to lose—after all, they only had tonight.

"Fuck," Edward muttered. He pulled her close, turning her so that she leaned against the railing. He pressed the full length of his body to hers and angled his head toward hers, lowering it until his lips skimmed up her neck and along her jaw. Bella thought he was going to kiss her there. Instead, he whispered in her ear in a tone that sent shivers and flashes of heat all over her body. "It's about fucking time."

Edward's lips landed on Bella's, first in a rough, frenzied kiss, but then he softened it for a moment, with a low, contented sigh against her mouth.

He moved his hands from her hips, up along her sides, and then sank his fingers into her hair and pulled, not caring about her carefully styled curls. His lips were firm and insistent, his tongue probing hers, tasting every inch of her lips and mouth. His beard burned her chin, and she whimpered as he kissed her harder, his lips demanding all he'd wanted from her since they'd first met almost a year ago.

All the frustration, passion, and desire that had been building between them since he walked in her office door, since his interview, since their encounter at the nightclub, was being poured from his lips to hers. It made her bold to know that he felt the same way she did, and she pulled back, breathless, saying the very last thing she'd planned to say tonight.

"Edward," she whispered, "come home with me."

* * *

Bella's skin was on fire. Every touch, every caress, every kiss scorched hotter than the last. His touch was firm, yet light. His kiss was tender, yet possessive.

He kissed every inch of her body. From the curve of her hips to the faint imperfections adorning her stomach. She squirmed and tried to move his head, but he hushed her and pinned down her hands with his.

Edward had never seen anything more beautiful. Her abdomen, silky soft with faded, silvery lines, stretched from carrying a life, was a vision to him. The way her waist swept in and then her hips sloped outward, an eloquent hourglass shape. Her breasts were a perfect weight in his hands as he squeezed and plucked at the tender swell of skin there, the tempo of her breathing guiding him.

Edward was dying to explore more, kiss more, taste more, but his patience was paper-thin. He'd wanted her for so long. He told himself to wait, to savor, to enjoy.

But he couldn't wait any longer.

When Bella wrapped her small hand around him, it took all the restraint he had not to thrust into her touch. It also took everything he had not to grab her and slam into her hard, to take her, mark her as his.

Because she _was_ his, if only for one night.

Bella sensed it, his urgency. But she was hesitant. This wasn't just sex. She knew she'd be giving Edward a piece of her heart that she'd never get back.

"I'm nervous," she whispered. Edward kissed her mouth in response, pulling back to look at her vulnerable face. Bella closed her eyes, unable to handle the intensity of his stare. She could feel the small, fissure-like cracks in her heart getting wider with each look. A tiny fragment of her heart chipping away with every kiss.

"Me, too." Edward leaned in again, putting his lips to her ear. "I've wanted this with you for so long, Bella."

She whimpered at his words, tugging him closer, digging her nails into his shoulders. "I can't wait any longer, Edward. I need you."

He smiled, his eyes boring into her soul. She watched with fascination, licking her lips, as he unwrapped a foil packet and rolled a condom down his considerable length. She bit back a moan as he lined up and pushed forward, filling her with himself, stealing her breath and her heart. Overwhelmed at the sense of fullness, Bella blinked back the sting behind her eyelids. It felt like the first time. She wished it _were_ the first time, wished _he_ had been her first.

Edward grit his teeth as he sank deeper, starting a lazy rhythm. He let out a deep groan as her tight heat gripped him, pulling him into indescribable ecstasy.

Their eyes locked. Bella's eyes begged, while Edward's surrendered.

They moved together, fingers gripping hips and nails digging into shoulders. Teeth nipping and biting, lips pulling and sucking.

Heavy breaths and desperate moans filled the bedroom as they climbed higher. He whispered sweet, dirty things into her ear, telling her all the ways he wanted to have her. Telling her that he was nowhere near done with her.

Telling her they had all the time in the world, even though they both knew it was only tonight.

She wished it were forever.

He pushed; she pulled, moving together in a frantic rhythm, their hearts matching their desperate pace, their mouths breathing the same air, until Bella didn't know where or who she was. She was all sensation and tingles, goosebumps all over her skin as she floated in a sea of bliss.

Bella cried out as her orgasm barreled through her, the sheer intensity of it making her gasp and curse. Shivers raced up and down her body as the tears she'd been holding back fell freely down her cheeks. Edward groaned as her flesh fluttered and clenched around him, his handsome features contorted in pleasure.

A quiet curse fell from his lips as he pulled out, his strong hands grasping Bella shoulders and flipping her over as if she weighed nothing.

"Fuck, Bella." Edward stretched his body over hers, his chest to her back, his lips at her neck. "I'm not done with you yet," he whispered. He kissed and sucked at the skin of her neck, working his way down her body, dragging his lips and fingers down her spine. His rough, calloused fingers ran over the swell of her ass, causing her to shudder and whimper into the pillow. He kneaded the flesh, his hands moving outward until he sank her fingers into her hips and pulled her up on to her knees. Spreading her legs wide, he slammed back into her, his hips flush with her ass as he held still, savoring the tiny aftershocks of her earlier orgasm.

He began a fast, punishing pace, a whispered " _fuck"_ with every thrust, their flesh slapping together as their whimpers and moans grew louder. Bella dropped to her elbows, in a trancelike state. Edward's brutal pace exhausted her, yet she craved more. She _wanted_ that euphoria that only he could give her. Edward rolled his hips with every thrust, pushing harder, deeper, until he reached a place inside her that no one had before.

"Come on, baby. You feel so good. I need to feel you come one more time." He reached around and pinched her clit, and Bella was suddenly on high alert. She threw her head back, rearing up, pressing her back to his chest. His strong arms anchored her as he sank his teeth into her neck. The sting of his bite sent jolts of pleasure through her; she was coming.

Edward followed with a deep, guttural groan. They fell over the edge together, their bodies collapsing as one on the bed, continuing to quiver and shake as they rode out their pleasure. Her cry and his groan made a melody that swirled through the air, the crescendo matching their peak as their bodies and hearts shattered.

* * *

He woke her in the night, pushing her legs apart and working his lips up the inside of her thighs. Feather kisses danced across her skin until he reached her soft, hot center. Bella stirred, moaning his name in her dreams. As she surfaced, her awareness became heightened, every sensation amplified, as she realized it was no dream.

She weaved her fingers into Edward's thick hair, loving the burn of his beard on her inner thighs and the flick of his tongue on her clit. She rocked her hips against him, grinding against his face, her head thrown back against the pillow, her whole body vibrating with need.

She came hard, shaking and panting, barely aware of one leg being propped up on Edward's shoulder as he pushed inside her one more time.

It was desperate—hard and fast. Edward couldn't get close enough, letting her leg drop and pressing the full length of his body on top of Bella. She relished his weight on her, barely a breath between their skin.

She clung to him as he buried his face in the space between her jaw and her shoulder, placing soft kisses along the length of her collarbone.

She clung to him as he came, his groans growing louder with each desperate thrust.

She clung to him as they fell asleep in each other's arms, grateful that he drifted off before her, so he couldn't hear the quiet sobs that she could no longer hold in.

* * *

Bella knew before she opened her eyes that she was alone. It had been a restless sleep, and she'd been faintly aware of Edward moving around in the dark room. She knew he was leaving, trying to slip out unnoticed, so she let herself drift.

She barely remembered the whisper of his lips across her forehead, and the quiet click of her doorknob. How she'd opened one eye to glance at the red, glowing numbers of her alarm clock in the dark, as his car pulled out of her driveway. She'd rolled over, stuffed her head under the pillow, and had fallen back to sleep with tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

Now, as the harsh, yellow glow of morning penetrated her eyelids, causing her to wince and screw her eyes shut tighter, the restless, dreamlike images from the night before came back to her, and she realized they were real. She didn't even have to reach across the space in the bed to know it was empty. She inhaled his scent that was all over her pillow, before opening her eyes and sitting up in bed, looking around the deserted room.

Even knowing she was alone when she opened her eyes, didn't make the crack of her heart any less painful, as reality came crashing down on her like a pile of bricks.

* * *

 **Yep, so... that happened.**

 **TRUST**

 **Thanks so much for all the reviews! Love you all ! If you want to come chat about the story, or other stories, post Robporn and generally just hang out, come join me in my group on Facebook group called "Stories with Sparkle" ! Would love to see you there!**

 **See you next week!**

 **Meg xoxo**


	23. Chapter 23

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Three**

* * *

 ***Three Months later***

 _Dear Bella,_

 _When I was a kid, we had a pet dog; a golden lab named Max. My parents bought him as a puppy for Rosalie's 4_ _th_ _birthday, so when I came along, he was already part of the family. He grew up with us, like a third sibling. We took him everywhere; he did everything with us. When I was ten, he died. My sister cried for weeks._

 _I did, too._

 _When I was fifteen, my grandpa on my dad's side was diagnosed with lung cancer. He never smoked a day in his life. He died a year later._

 _I cried then, too._

 _When I was in junior year of high school, I met Kate. She had transferred in from the East Coast due to her parents' divorce. We started dating, and I fell quick and hard. We were each other's' first everything. We were together right up until the summer after graduation, when she broke up with me the night before she left for NYU. I was staying in Washington, and we were going to do long distance, but she changed her mind at the last minute. She never gave me a reason why, and even though she was the one breaking up with me, she cried as she kissed me goodbye._

 _I didn't cry, but it really sucked._

 _None of these things compared to the sorrow I felt leaving your bed at the break of dawn. My heart was so heavy as I lay there wide-awake in the early hours, listening to the sound of your even, peaceful breathing. Earlier, you thought I was sleeping, but I had lain there with my eyes closed and listened to you crying. I wondered if your heart was breaking as much as mine? It killed me to stay silent. There were so many things I wished I could have said. So many things I wished could have been different. I'd made my choice. I was on a path to get everything I'd ever wanted for my career, since I made the decision to coach, when I found out I couldn't compete, but the price was giving up you._

 _Nothing I could have said would have changed a damn thing. I couldn't ask anything of you, not when I was the one leaving. When I was the one choosing my career over you. So I swallowed all the things I wanted to say._

 _I must have stood there at the foot of your bed watching you sleep for about ten minutes, willing myself to leave. You were so beautiful, so blissfully unaware. I wanted to crawl back in beside you and block out the world._

 _But I knew that would be harder on both of us, so I walked out of your house, out of your life, and didn't look back. I told myself I'd be fine when I got to Colorado and threw myself into my new challenge. I told myself it was better this way; that you were better off without me. I was surprised you gave me a chance in the end_ — _you resisted me for so long. Maybe you were right to, though. Sometimes I wondered what I could have offered you. Turns out, it wasn't much._

 _The thing is, I was fooling myself when I walked away and told myself I would be okay. I'm not. There's this near constant ache in my chest when I think about you. You're on my mind all the time. Your face is the first thing I see before I open my eyes every morning and the last thing I see before I fall asleep._

 _There's no excuse for how long it's taken me to get in touch, but I can only beg that you can forgive my silence. I want you in my life, in any capacity. I have no right to ask anything of you, given the circumstances and distance, but I'd like for us to keep in touch. I don't want to lose you as a friend. If that's all you can ever give me, I'll be okay with that._

 _Age is just a number, Bella, but timing is everything. Maybe this wasn't our time. The idea kills me a little inside, but maybe one day fate will bring us back together. In the meantime, look after my heart._

 _I've left it with you._

 _Yours,_

 _Edward._

With the letter in one hand, and her phone in the other, Bella dropped her head to the pillow with a heavy sigh. That one breath let out all the heaviness and confusion she'd been suppressing since Edward's departure from her bed, and from her life.

Waking up that morning to find him gone, Bella had blinked and rubbed her eyes; as if doing so would make Edward reappear beside her in bed. When she'd opened them, she'd flopped back down on the pillow with a huff and stared at the ceiling.

She'd wanted to punch something. She'd wanted to kick herself. How could she have been so stupid as to sleep with Edward before he left? Bella had tried desperately to ignore the ache in her chest, but it felt like her heart was being squeezed and wrung out like a wet rag. She gasped, pulling in deep lungfuls of air as she tried to quell the panic that rose up inside her at the thought of him being gone.

No, she'd told herself. She would not be the girl who cried over a man leaving her. She would not be that girl who moped around, went through the motions, and lost herself because she didn't know who she was without a man. She'd been fine on her own before Edward Cullen came along, and she'd be fine now that he was gone—especially when he hadn't even had the decency to say goodbye.

Even as she'd spoke the words to herself inside her head, tears ran down her face. She'd allow herself this one last time to cry, and then that would be the end of it. She'd gotten out of bed and made her way to the shower, where her tears were washed away with her shampoo suds.

She'd dressed quickly, threw her hair up, then called her father to check he would be okay to keep Seth for the rest of the weekend. She'd thrown together a quick overnight bag, got into her car, calling Alice on the way, and started the long drive to Seattle.

A weekend of retail therapy, spa treatments, and cocktails with her best friend had done her the world of good—even though she'd only just done the same thing the previous weekend. She'd spilled the whole sorry story to Alice, and had another cry, before declaring she was over it and was moving on.

Despite her bravado, Bella found herself checking her phone all weekend for word from Edward. By the time she'd driven home from Seattle that Sunday night, her mind was made up. Edward's radio silence spoke volumes, and Bella would not be the one to chase after him.

Though she wasn't sure what she'd say even if she did text him?

 _Thanks for the goodbye fuck._

 _It was nice knowing you._

 _Good luck in the new job._

Thinking about it caused something dark and angry to flare up inside her. Whom did Bella have to thank for her rotten luck? She'd resisted Edward for months, and when she finally gave in, he announced he was leaving? Bella knew he hadn't been playing a game, and agreed with Edward that the timing was horrible. She didn't hold it against him for wanting to pursue his dream.

But, to just leave her bed without a word, after the intimacy they'd shared the previous night?

Fuck that.

And so, in the space of a week, Bella had gone from enchanted excitement about her impending date with Edward, to a hollow shell with feigned indifference toward him.

You win some, you learn some, she told herself.

Bella busied herself with work, putting all her energy into finding new gym staff and a replacement for Edward. Until she found someone, Bella worked all the overtime she could, relying heavily on her father and Sue to look after Seth.

She pushed down the ache she felt every time she sat at her desk and remembered Edward grinning across at her, munching on a bagel or a croissant, or his birthday cupcakes. She ignored the way her heart squeezed when she heard his favorite spinning track come on over the gym's sound system.

Life went on, and so did Bella.

Until this morning, three months after he'd gone, when she opened her mailbox to find an envelope covered in his familiar, messy scrawl. Her heart skipped when she saw her name in black ink, the writing smudged and sullied by rain. The Colorado Springs postmark proved her worst fears and greatest hopes.

Now, as she lay in bed and contemplated the words of Edward's letter, she found herself more confused than ever. Three fucking months without a word. Not a single text message or call. What did it mean? What did he want from her? Everything she'd been trying to push down brimmed to the surface with a simple letter—and Bella realized there was no way she was over Edward Cullen. How dare he insert himself back into her life, seemingly on a whim? At least that was how it felt.

Bella knew she should ignore it. She could tear his letter apart and burn the pieces. But the small whisper in the back of her mind wouldn't let her forget. Seth asked about Edward almost every time they were on their way to swim practice—asking when they could visit him in Colorado, and if Edward would ever be coming back to coach him at Port Angeles Swim Club. Seth had seemed to take Edward's departure well, and hadn't shown much emotion when saying goodbye to Edward the night of their date, but his constant questions made Bella think Seth was more attached than she realized.

She needed to talk to Edward, to clear the air, put some things to rest, so that they could all move on.

So she took a deep breath, her thumb hovering over the screen of her phone, over Edward's number—the one she had tried to delete many times, but could never bring herself to do it.

Biting her lip, she pressed dial.

Her stomach rolled as the call connected.

Her palms felt warm and clammy, and her breathing sped up as the phone rang, once, twice, three times.

"Hello?" His voice was low and husky, thick with sleep. Bella threw a concerned glance to the bedside clock, but her frown fell when she saw the time. It wasn't that early, and the time difference was only an hour. But, it was Saturday, so Edward was obviously sleeping late.

She imagined him, frowning over the phone at his early morning caller, face creased with pillow lines, and his hair rumpled from tossing and turning. Shirtless, with loose sleep pants hanging around his hips. One leg sticking out from under the sheet, the arm not holding his phone resting under his pillow. His hand would move from under the pillow, scrubbing up and down his face, rubbing his beard as he waited for her to speak.

Morning wood.

Bella couldn't speak. Now that she'd plucked up the courage to reach out to him, her tongue was numb, as though she'd been outside too long on a winter's day.

"Hello?" There was a mild note of exasperation to Edward's tone now, and Bella realized she needed to swallow her fear before he hung up on her.

"Hi," she whispered. She cleared her throat, rolling her eyes at herself, then tried again. "Hi, Edward."

His breathing hitched. It might have been a small gasp of surprise.

"Bella?" His voice was soft, and unsure.

"Yeah, it's me."

Bella's heart fluttered when he let out that breathy, sexy chuckle she had missed so much.

"Damn, girl. It's so good to hear your voice."

* * *

 **Hi! Happy Monday! Hope you liked the chapter! Note the time jump! There will be more time jumps as we go along now! Also note that chapter one was set FOUR YEARS before the prologue - then they worked together for roughly 9/10 months before he left and then this chapter takes place roughly three months after that - so roughly THREE YEARS before the prologue! Just an FYI, really.**

 **Very mixed response to the last chapter - I tried to reply to some of your reviews but I know I didn't get them all! they really do mean so much, though! Thank you so much for reading and continuing to trust and stick with it!**

 **Massive thanks to Karen and Midnight cougar for their wonderful editing and endless patience! love you girls xox**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing - we made it to over 700 reviews with the last chapter - wow!**

 **see you next week! xo**


	24. Chapter 24

**Twilightladies and Midnight Cougar make this readable! I pledge eternal love and cupcakes to them both. important A/N at the bottom**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Four**

* * *

Bella was still mute. She had no idea what she wanted to say to Edward. Over the last three months, she'd had so many imaginary conversations with him, and knew exactly what she'd say if she ever got to see him or talk to him again. Now, though, her mind was blank, and her heart was still fluttering from the sound of his husky voice and low laughter. She needed a moment to collect herself.

When things were silent for a beat too long, she heard Edward clear his throat.

"How've you been?" His voice was tentative, unsure.

"I've been good," she replied. "Work's been crazy busy. Seth's working very hard at swim club. James is driving me crazy—he's been around a lot since you left. We still haven't found a new assistant manager, so he's been helping me out a bit." The words tumbled out of her mouth as she barely paused for breath, desperate to fill the awkward silence. But she cringed at her own fake cheer.

"That's... wow. You guys haven't replaced me yet?"

"I'm not sure I could ever replace you, Edward." The statement came out as an almost-whisper but the truth in her words was evident, and the silence hung between them. Bella was all too aware of the double meaning of her words. She could tell that Edward caught it too, from his whispered curse on the other end of the phone.

This was not going at all how she'd planned.

"Bella... I have so much I want to say to you. I could have said more in that letter, but I didn't want to overwhelm you." Edward's voice was quiet, almost nervous.

"Edward, help me out. I'm confused. That letter was... beautiful." Bella took a shaky breath, trying to sound firmer. She had to get it out before she lost her nerve. "But it doesn't mean I'm not mad at you. It doesn't mean I haven't wondered why the fuck I never heard from you for three months. I know it was only one night, but dammit Edward, I thought we were at least friends? Friends don't ignore their friends for three months."

Edward barked out a laugh. "Fuck, Bella. I really messed this up, didn't I? I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"Messed what up, Edward? I don't even know what we are to each other! After one amazing night together, you leave without saying goodbye, and then three months of silence?" Bella tried but failed to keep the exasperation out of her voice, which had now raised an octave.

"I know. Listen Bella, I really want to see you. Will you come visit me? It's less than a three-hour flight from Seattle. I'll pay for your ticket." It was as though Edward had plucked random words from thin air and just decided to try them out—the words ran from his mouth; he barely even stopped for breath.

Bella gasped—it was the last thing she'd expected to hear. The thought both thrilled and terrified her—and the small spark of anger that had been growing inside her ignited into a burning flame.

"What the hell? You want me to visit you?" Bella threw back the comforter and stood from the bed, pacing up and down the room. She could feel her heart speeding up as the angry fire burned hotter.

"Three fucking months, Edward!"

"Bella, please," Edward whispered through the phone. Bella stood still at the sound of his voice. She'd never heard her cocky, confident, self-assured Edward sound so defeated. "I work seven days a week and I'm not allowed time off right now; otherwise, I would have been back in Washington as soon as I'd left you."

"Well, if you were ready to come back that soon, what stopped you from picking up the phone and calling me? Why has it taken three months for you to write to me?" Bella was losing patience. She pulled the phone from her ear and stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the end call button, but she couldn't bring herself to hang up. Bringing the phone back up to her ear, she was met with a heavy sigh from Edward.

"Because I'm an asshole, and a coward, and I'm weak." Edward sighed again, and Bella could imagine him raking his hand through his hair and pulling on it in frustration. "And I'm immature and too young for you and not good enough for you, but I'm also selfish as fuck, and I want you in my life."

The sound of the low curse from Edward's voice sent shivers of goosebumps dancing across her bare arms. It triggered a slideshow of memories to play across Bella's closed eyes. Memories of their night together, him whispering dirty things in her ears, the feeling of his tongue tasting every inch of her flesh, the rough pad of his thumb tracing her nipples.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he declared through a whisper.

Was he thinking about that night, too? Was he only thinking about the sex? Or had he felt the deeper connection? The feeling that they had given each other a small part of their hearts that night? Was he remembering all the time they'd spent together at work, all the breakfasts at her desk, all the good times they'd had? Bella wanted to ask him all of this, but was scared of the answers.

"If you work seven days a week, what's the point in me coming out there?" Bella was clutching at straws.

"I only work three hours on Saturdays and two on Sundays, but it's the early sessions—five a.m. starts. It simply wouldn't work for me to fly down there for a weekend. But if you came up, I can spend time with you during the day. We can talk. Like, really talk."

Bella sighed in resignation. "I don't know, Edward. Work is crazy, and Seth has a lot of weekend meets. I'm not sure when I'll get time."

Her excuses were only partly true—Charlie was more than willing to look after Seth, and James could pick up the slack at the club if needed. Plus, she had done more than her fair share of overtime and was due some time off. Bella just wasn't sure if she was ready to see Edward. It felt like she'd barely begun to get control of her feelings—then, out of the blue, a letter and a phone call had turned her brain upside down.

"That's not a no," said Edward.

"It's not a no... It's a not yet."

* * *

"Why do you look so down these days, kiddo?" Charlie Swan spooned two too many spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee and gave it a brisk stir, frowning at his daughter across the table. Bella had been picking at her food; she was ravenous, but too distracted by the maze in her mind to focus on moving her fork from her plate to her mouth. Their Sunday brunch at her father's house had been quiet, the conversation stilted and slow; Charlie knew his daughter well enough to know when something was wrong.

She glanced at Seth beside her, who seemed too engrossed in an Angry Birds game on Bella's phone to be paying too much attention to their conversation.

Bella sighed. "Work's just been crazy lately, Dad. I'm so sick of that place."

Charlie rested his chin in one hand and rubbed his beard, leveling Bella with a perplexed stare. "I know you hated it for a long time, but it seemed like the last year or so you'd really settled into it. I thought you loved it."

"She misses Edward." Seth didn't even glance up from his game. Had it not been for the shock, Bella would have laughed out loud at Seth's astute observation. Instead, she let out a strange sort of squeak and went wide-eyed as Seth continued. "I miss him, too. Coach Clapp can be so mean sometimes." Seth frowned at the phone screen, before glancing up at his grandfather then to his mother. "What?"

Charlie tilted his head at Bella. "Edward? Seth's coach? That guy who worked for you?"

Bella side-eyed her son, turning to face him. "Seth, why don't you go play outside for a bit now that you're all finished your pancakes."

"Sure, Mom, so you guys can talk about Edward." Seth huffed and rose from the table, dragging his feet through the kitchen, slamming the back door behind him. Charlie's eyes followed Seth's movements, shaking his head in wonder at his grandson.

"That kid is growing up way too fast. Too smart for his own good."

Bella let out a short laugh. "Don't I know it."

Charlie sipped his coffee with one hand and held out his other hand, moving it in a "spill it" gesture.

"Yeah, Edward was Seth's coach, and we worked very closely together at the club." Bella paused, searching for the right words. She was close to her father, but not close enough to go into detail about relationships. "But, he and I, we were more than friends, I guess. For a short time." Bella didn't want it to lessen what she and Edward had shared, or make it sound cheap, even if it had been only one night.

Bella's reality was that it had _felt_ like more than one night.

Charlie set down his coffee cup and held up two hands. "Say no more. I don't need the gory details. So, you're missing him? Do you keep in touch? Are you trying long distance? What's the problem?"

"I don't know, Dad." Bella sighed, leaning her head in one hand. "I'm so confused right now. I got a letter from him yesterday. It was the first thing I'd heard from him since he left three months ago."

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "He didn't contact you for three months?"

"To be fair, I didn't contact him either. But the letter was sweet and apologetic. I called him, and he said all the right things—wants me to come out there and visit. It seems like maybe he wants to try long distance, but he didn't actually say that. But why else would he want me to go out there, right? He said he'd pay for my ticket, and those aren't cheap."

"How do you feel about that? What did you tell him?"

"I didn't say yes, but I didn't say no either. I was angry at first. But then I was relieved to hear from him, and it was so good to hear his voice on the phone. And when we hung up and I thought about him out there, doing what he loves, do you know what I felt? I realized why I'd been so bitter for the last three months. It wasn't because he left and we couldn't take our relationship any further. It wasn't even that he left without a proper goodbye.

"It's that he's young, free, and living his dream. I'm jealous of him, Dad." Bella swiped at the unexpected tears falling down her cheeks. "And that jealousy made me feel so damn guilty. Because I'm happy. I have a good life." She motioned to the back door. "I love that kid with everything in me. Our situation isn't ideal, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. But sometimes I feel trapped here. Before Seth came along, I wanted to travel. I wanted to see the world. I wanted to go to law school. I've never even been outside of Washington!"

Bella gasped at the words that had flowed freely from her, unbidden but full of truth. They were things she'd never said out loud. They were things she barely ever allowed herself to think. While things in her life hadn't gone exactly as planned, she'd made the best of what she had, and she couldn't have done it without the help of her father and family friends like Sue.

"And I don't wanna be _her_ ," she whispered, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. "That's the last thing I want to be."

Charlie nodded, knowing exactly to whom Bella was referring. Bella's mother, Renee, had taken off when Bella was only a baby, saying she wanted to travel the world, claiming she wasn't cut out for motherhood. Charlie had raised his baby girl on his own, and Renee had flitted in and out of Bella's life on random whims. Bella had always resented the fact that Renee had never really been around for her.

When Bella had found out she was pregnant, she vowed she'd be everything Renee wasn't.

Charlie rose from his chair and walked around the table, sitting down in the chair beside Bella's. He wrapped an arm around his daughter and cradled her head into his shoulder, letting out a long sigh.

"Bella, you'll never be her, because you're you. But, you _are_ half of her and half of me. It would be totally normal for you to have similar wishes and dreams and desires to your parents. And heck, you could say the same thing about me being trapped in Forks and raising you alone and never getting out of here."

Bella gasped, lifting her head to meet Charlie's eyes.

"Wait now, Bella, that's not what I'm saying. I said you _could_ say that. But I never had that desire. I'm a home-bird, and I love it here. I love my job, and I love this area. So you definitely get that adventurous side from her."

Bella glowered at her father. "Dad—"

Her father cut her off. "There's nothing wrong with that, Bella. And you shouldn't feel guilty about it. You shouldn't feel tied down and trapped. If you wanna travel, travel. Take Seth with you. If you want to go back to school, do it. I'll help out any way I can. If you want a new job, start looking."

Charlie paused, letting his words sink in.

"And if you want to be with Edward, be with him. But I think you need to do a bit of soul-searching first."

* * *

"So how was work today?"

Bella still couldn't wrap her brain around the fact she was talking to Edward on the phone. It had been two weeks since she'd received his letter and called him, since his invite to visit him, since the conversation with her father.

In the first week, Edward had texted her constantly, several times every day asking if they could talk, telling her he missed her, or sometimes just telling her random things he'd got up to that day. When they'd progressed to phone calls, the conversation was similar. Sometimes they forgot the elephant in the room and talked for hours late into the night, about arbitrary subjects such as their favorite vacation destinations or their favorite Christmas memory. Bella found herself more fascinated than ever with Edward.

It made it seem like they were more, and it made Bella long for more.

"Work is... work. It is what it is. It's not the same without you." She paused, unsure whether to tell him the next part. After a moment's hesitation, she decided it couldn't do any harm. "I've been job hunting."

"Wow... seriously? What made you decide that?"

"I'm ready for a change. I've been ready for a long time, but when you started, it kind of distracted me from that."

"Oh really?" Edward's voice dropped, low and husky, and Bella felt heat rise to her cheeks. " _I_ was a distraction?"

"Yes," she said on a breath.

"Well, you were just as much of a distraction to me. I could barely think straight around you for the first few months. That's why I hardly spoke to you in the beginning. I was either trying to hide my hard-on, or stop myself from climbing over your desk and taking you on top of it."

"Edward..." Bella trailed off, pulling her lip between her teeth. A low moan from Edward made her clench her thighs together. She wasn't sure how the conversation had gone in this direction, but she was going to go with it.

"I'm serious, Bella. I wanted you from day one," he whispered. "I still wake up every morning so hard for you. It's never been like that for me before, the way it was with you."

"I... I feel the same."

"It's not just the sex, though. I want you to know that, Bella." Edward sounded very serious now.

"I know."

"So... will you come?"

Bella's brain was in a deep fog. For a second, it felt like Edward had been about to initiate phone sex, but then he seemed to put on the brakes by making it clear that his interest in her wasn't merely sexual.

"Will you come to Colorado? Spend the weekend with me," he pleaded. "I'll take you out. We'll talk. We'll make love and have breakfast in bed. Will you, Bella? Please?"

Bella couldn't refuse him any longer. "Yes, I'll come see you."

"Thank you, Bella." Relief rang through his words. "You won't regret it."

"I better not."

* * *

 ***waves* Hi, All! Sorry this took so long. Life has been CRAZY the last few weeks with work. School finishes tomorrow, and on Tuesday, my family and I are going to spain for 2 weeks for our summer holiday. So there will be no update for at least 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately because things have been so busy, I've not had a chance to write ahead of time. I'm taking my ipad, but I doubt I will get much done when I'm away. Then, obviously, when we get back, the kiddo is off school for the summer so my free time will be limited. Updates may not be once a week for a while going forward. But, I will do my best to keep you updated as to my progress so you know roughly how long you will have to wait.**

 **Thanks so much to my girls Karen and MC for their wonderful editing skills. and thank YOU all so much for reading and reviewing! I'm going to try and get some review replies done this time !**

 **Meg xox**


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